14-80

by kinyamsabajigin

It very good

3. 100-150

"If it's the key, then it's a key for what? And what were the scenes that flashed before me? The girl? Lightning beasts? A Tsunami? That door...?"

Gabriel stared at the black orb, trying to decipher what it could be about, but right then, the Ring on his finger made some movement.

It turned into the speck of darkness that floated before him. The book returned to the real form of the Book. The pages started flipping on their own.

The book did manage to attract Gabriel's attention, who raised his head.

He saw the pages flipping, stopping on the sixth page, which used to be empty until now. Some words started appearing on the sixth page.

"A new spell? Is it because I became a mid-tier mage? My soul is definitely stronger now, so that could be why. Or it could be because the book wants to reward me?"

It didn't matter how or why he was getting the spell. What mattered was that he was getting a new spell. He eagerly waited to see which spell it was.

The spell seemed to be bigger than his old spells. It had more words and seemed slightly complicated as well. The spell somehow from the entire page, and it didn't stop there! The page turned, and the spell continued, only stopping after covering half of the seventh page as well.

The eighth page also flipped as one more spell appeared... His sixth spell. Moreover, both the spells that appeared were offensive spells, which made them harder to master as well. Gabriel had four spells before this, but none of them were proper offensive spells if one was to ignore the battle ability of his summoned undead.

The two new spells that appeared were proper spells that were made to fight! They were made for battles and to take lives!

The eighth spell also finished appearing. The Forbidden Book of Necromancy didn't turn to the next page. Instead, it turned straight to the page in the middle of the book.

"One more spell?" Gabriel was taken aback to see the Grimoire skip all the other pages and turn straight to the middle page. "Why that page?"

As he waited for the new spell to reveal itself, nothing as such happened. Instead, the page started shining. Gabriel felt some powerful attraction from the page as if the gravity was trying to pull toward itself, but the gravity wasn't acting on him. Instead, it was acting on his hand, which was holding onto the Sphere.

"You want this?" Gabriel opened his fist, releasing the black orb. He didn't know what the orb was, but if his Grimoire wanted it, he trusted it.

Just as he expected, the black orb flew to the page. Somehow, it entered the page of the Forbidden Book, disappearing as if the page was some doorway.

Finally, after the book seemingly swallowed it, there appeared a word on the page.

[Space]

Following the word, more things started appearing under the name, which showed Gabriel what this word implied, what the benefits of this were, or how he could use it.

"Space for storing items? So it's a storage spell, like Lira's dark realm? That would make sense. I did want a spell like Lira's spell."

He was already worried about how he was going to carry all these Numens out. He had planned to use Undead Swap to leave the Town as well, with all these items later on, but if he had a spell like Lira, then there was no problem with it.

Moreover, there was another thing that Gabriel quite liked. Unlike with other Spells, he didn't need to learn it. The information about this spell came to his head directly. A connection was established, through which he could also sense all the items inside his space.

The space was vast, much bigger than he expected, but it wasn't infinite.

Unfortunately, the orb wasn't inside the space, which raised the question as to where that orb actually went.

"Wait! The guards! They are still outside! What am I doing wasting time? I can do all this later as well! First, I need to take the Numens out of here!"

He had many questions and some excitement about his new spells, but also some worries. He had already wasted a lot of time here. The longer he stayed here, the worse it became for him.

He went to the Ancestral Staff of Darkness first since that was his primary goal. All the defense spells were already destroyed in this place by Lenin, so he didn't need to worry about it much.

Without the magical reinforcements, the glass that was protecting the Numens was no more than ordinary glasses for him.

He clenched his fist before casting a strengthening spell of Light on himself. That's where his other element really came to use. His physical strength was boosted immediately.

He punched the glass that was protecting the Staff of Darkness.

As he expected, the glass wasn't able to provide much resistance as it shattered with a loud noise.

"I wonder if the Grimoire of Necromancy can keep the Ancestral Staff of Darkness?"

He had already seen what happened when a Mage of Light touched the Holy Grimoire of another element when he tried touching his Grimoire with his left hand. Similarly, the Ancestral Staff was also an item of similar importance which could create trouble with other elements.

He decided to test the theory and raised his left hand. "Space."

Contrary to his own expectations, his spell appeared to work. The Ancestral Staff of Darkness disappeared after resisting a bit, entering the Forbidden Book of Necromancy, as if even the Staff wasn't enough to resist the Forbidden Book.

Outside the Museum, Eliana arrived with the group.

Seeing Eliana with the other Head Council members, all the guards were taken aback.

"Y-you are here?! Didn't you enter around half an hour ago?" One of the guards asked.

"What nonsense are you talking about? Are you drunk? It's my first time coming here." Eliana rolled her eyes, but as she noticed the others also looking at her like she was a ghost, it didn't appear as if it was just this guard who had this question.

The other Head Council members were also confused.

"How could she have come here an hour ago? She had been with us since then," Yann scoffed.

"Did you all see her enter?" Rem asked the other guards, just to be sure.

"We all saw her enter. Lady Eliana came here and told us that Lord Rem and others would also be coming here and that she would be waiting inside for others."

"She walked right inside, and we didn't see her come out... That's why we were surprised to see her again."

One after another, all the guards said the same thing. One of them could be drunk and talking nonsense, but all of them? It seemed very unlikely.

Eliana's face turned pale as she realized just what might have happened here! Someone used her face to enter! The guards also allowed that person to walk right inside, allowing her access to their most important items!

"You idiots! It must be an illusion! You let a stranger walk right inside!"

Eliana rushed inside. The others also realized what had happened as they all rushed inside as well. If the intruder entered but didn't come out, that meant he was still inside! They could still catch him!

Elora also followed all the teachers. In a situation like this, she didn't want to take the lead. She was a guest here, and it wasn't her place. She also didn't want to look like she was involved in this since it happened around the same time as she arrived. She was the last person to enter.

The Specter passed through the glass door and entered Gabriel's room. The flames of the Infernal King couldn't even touch him. It was the same for his physical attacks. Since the specter was in its spiritual form, the Infernal King couldn't even touch him.

,m It was a futile effort.

The Specter kept his eyes on the Infernal King as a voice echoed in the room. "Killing me won't bring them back."

It was as if the specter was speaking, but the voice wasn't coming from him. It was as if it was coming from all directions, falling in the Infernal King's ears.

"I will destroy you with this world!" The Infernal King roared, but once again, before he could do anything, the terrifying headache returned as Gabriel's command was still under effect.

"You will do nothing." The Specter commented, watching the Infernal King fall to his knees. Gabriel's commands acted like shackles around the Infernal King, restricting what he could actually do here.

"All for your greed!" The Infernal King glared at the Spectre with bloodlust.

The Spectre didn't react. Even if he did, it was impossible to see since he was like the physical embodiment of darkness and death.

"You are in the world of the living. You aren't supposed to exist here... But I will allow it... Since it's him..."

"Who do you think you are to allow me?! I will kill you!" The Infernal King roared, but the Spectre didn't care.

"You are inconsequential..." The Spectre answered. His words sounded like he was mocking the Infernal King, but his time was very serious as if he was just alerting the Infernal King. "Don't waste the opportunity... Finally, there can be a return... Forget the past..."

The Spectre turned around and left, disappearing into the darkness, leaving the Infernal King behind, who was still raging. Fortunately, the noise didn't get out of the room

Gabriel had kept all the items in the museum. He had completely emptied the treasures. There was only one thing which he hadn't taken yet. It was the cursed letter that appeared to be addressed to Karyk.

He walked to the letter. Just for the sake of it, he decided to take the letter as well, mentally preparing himself not to read what was in it.

He broke the glass shell around the letter and picked it up without reading a single word. However, as soon as he took the letter, he heard some sounds coming from the stairs. It was as if someone was rushing to the room.

"These guys!"

He didn't know that these were the Teachers, only believing them to be guards for now. Teachers couldn't come this fast out of nowhere, after all. However, he still decided to be careful and leave. If he was already done here, there was no benefit in staying behind for longer.

"Undead Swap!" He used the spell again, returning back to his room. The Infernal King appeared in his place inside the museum, confused.

The Infernal King watched his surroundings change abruptly. He was out of the room. He had seen Gabriel use the undead swap before, which made it a bit less surprising. After a few moments, he realized what might have happened.

He saw an empty hall. There were no treasures here, which meant that Gabriel had succeeded. Finally, he could return... Finally he could go back home.

"There he is! The intruder!" A shout came from behind.

Yann was so hasty to stop the intruder that, without waiting for anyone, he attacked first. He didn't deal a deadly blow either since he wanted to question the intruder later on. He simply targeted the legs of the Infernal King. From the back, he couldn't see the face of the Infernal Sorcerer.

A ball of fire shot toward the legs of the Infernal King, hitting right in the back of his knees.

Even though Yann didn't place all his strength behind the attack, it should've been able to turn the man's legs into cinders, but there was not even a mark left behind.

The Infernal King tilted his head to the left, wondering if that was actually fire. It was so weak that he found it insulting.

He was still angry because of what happened with the Spectre. And since he wasn't in the room, there was no restriction. The Infernal King smirked.

Gabriel had appeared back in his room, and he was just about to cancel the Summoning spell when he heard a loud explosion noise. He rushed to the glass door and looked outside, noticing a cloud of blue flames. It seemed to be coming from where the museum was!

The entire museum blew up, burning in terrifying flames as the Infernal King finally let loose

The entire Museum of Elements blew up. The surroundings were covered in dark blue flames. A smoke cloud could be seen in the sky

"This guy!" Gabriel exclaimed, hastily canceling his spell. He was slightly amazed at how much strength the Infernal Sorcerer possessed, but more than that, he was considerate about what this might lead to.

The Infernal King stood in blazing flames. There was not even a single burn on his clothes.

Surprisingly, he wasn't the only one who was still standing, as it was the same for the Head Council Members. They were also completely fine from what could be seen, but mostly thanks to Elora.

As soon as the Infernal Sorcerer attacked in anger, Elora called out her Ancestral Staff of Element of Water, sending just how dangerous these flames were. She didn't take any risks at the moment.

Right in the midst of the Flames, there was a barrier made from holy water, which was protecting the group from these flames. The spell was one of the Advanced Tier spells of Elora, who didn't hesitate even for a single second before casting the spell.

The Infernal King also noticed that they were still fine. He also felt a disgusting feeling from that water, not only because it was the element that was opposite to flames, but because it was Holy Water which was filled with the energy of life.

The Infernal King prepared to attack again, but before he could, a formation circle appeared under him. The Summoning Spell was canceled by Gabriel. A black light surrounded the body of the Infernal King.

"Rain of the Goddess!" In another place, Elora raised her Ancestral Staff, casting another spell to extinguish the flames.

By the time she cast her spell, the Infernal King had already disappeared, returning to the realm of Undead as he initially wanted.

The rain started lashing out, fighting against the flames. Fortunately, since the Infernal King was sent back, the fire lost its source and grew even weaker. Thanks to that, the rain was able to stop the flames quite quickly.

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At the same time, Elora also removed the Barrier. "It seems he disappeared. Some kind of Teleportation."

Even through the wall of water, she had managed to see a spell formation appearing under the Infernal King and his figure disappearing before the rain came.

She wondered if he had run away, but at the same time, she had a feeling that it was something more.

From the way he attacked them, it didn't look like he was scared of them. Even though she couldn't see that person's face, just his actions alone gave her the feeling that he wanted to fight.

"We can't let him escape! Our Artifacts!" Qin exclaimed. "We need to find him! I'm going to have the city sealed! No one shall be allowed to leave!"

He flew away. This was a serious matter! The Academy was basically attacked! They couldn't sit idle! He left the Academy to get the entire city sealed, so no one could enter or leave without permission.

Hearing the explosion, the other Head Priestesses also rushed to the spot. Seeing Elora was fine, they calmed down. "What happened? Who attacked you?"

They were prepared for battle, wondering if the Mage of Fire from the Head Council had attacked Elora.

"No one attacked me. Someone attacked the academy." Elora answered. "All the Artifacts are stolen."

She turned to Eliana. "I think you should inform the Church of Light as well since this can't be kept hidden. Moreover, it's important that they know. I'll send a message to other Churches as well. This matter is bigger than you might expect."

"Did you sense it too?" Eliana asked. "It was a Mage of Darkness..."

"Yeah. Even though his aura was hidden in light, from this closeness, there was no mistake about it. At the core of his spell, I could only feel darkness," Elora agreed.

"A mage that has Darkness, uses fire, and emits an aura of light?" Xinci frowned. "Just what are we dealing with here?"

"I'm not sure, but it might be related to the sudden appearances of the Mages of Darkness throughout," Eliana answered. "It seems the Church of Darkness is really trying to make a return. First, killing a Priest of Light, then killing a Head Priestess of Water. It was like them sending a message before... A message about their return."

"As for the specific targeting of your Museum, the target was most probably the Ancestral Staff of Darkness. And now they have it, which is quite troublesome if true... If they need an Ancestral Staff, that would mean the Grimoire of Darkness has selected an heir long ago... And that heir is ready now... Ready to make a proper appearance before the world..."

As Eliana talked about what it could mean, everyone had grim expressions on their faces.

"I feel like the person we faced... He might be the new Heir selected by the Grimoire of Darkness, who came here personally to take his staff." Elora also tossed out an assumption, gazing at the dark clouds in the sky.

"What makes you think that?" Yann asked. "Also, I still don't get why you're all so sure that he was a Mage of Darkness! He literally used flames! There is no way a mage can have dual elements. He couldn't have had flames and darkness!"

"And how are you so sure that the owner of Grimoire of Darkness can't use Flames? They weren't ordinary flames. As I said before... I could feel them getting weak against my holy water, more than they should've. They aren't the flames that the Church of Fire uses." Elora shook her head in response.

"Also, who is to say that a dark mage can't use dark flames? A Grimoire is more powerful than you can imagine. And at times, it can give spells that it didn't to the old masters. Even I have a few spells that our Church Head didn't have before."

"Just because the old Ruler of Darkness didn't use dark flames in any battle doesn't mean others can't either." she further stated.

Eliana agreed with Elora. "Xinci, inform the Church of Light about what happened here. Have them come here as soon as they can. Meanwhile, I'll find a way to contact Lord Izen. The rest of you…."

The Church of Light was one of the strongest organizations in the entire world. At least, that was what everyone thought. Only the Church itself knew the reality, as there hadn't been many opportunities for the Church to show how much it had grown since the battle with the Church of Darkness.

Many people worshiped the members of the Church of Light as people who saved their world from Demons; however, there were also some people who knew that there was now lots of politics involved in the Sacred Church of Light, especially among the Head Priests.

The Mages of Light were said to be the embodiment of purity and justice. But the Head Priests were quite different from what the stories made them appear... At least some of them. They did so many things for their greed, and due to their jealousy that it was enough to make people lose trust in the Church of Light. Fortunately, those things remained hidden from the public eye.

The biggest incident regarding this hadn't happened long ago, related to the Head of the Ashton Family, who was a member of the Church.

When he was accused, many Head Priests knew that the chances of those accusations being true were meager. Despite that, just to take out a talented competitor for the Head of Church position, which they believed was going to be vacant soon, they all went with the flow, destroying the life of an innocent in the process.

Even now, that person and his entire family were considered traitors by many, all because of some people's greed.

The Church of Light was established not far from the Royal Palace of the Lumen Empire, but surprisingly, the majestic Church building had more area than the Royal Palace. Not only that, the Church of Light was said to be the de facto ruler of the Lumen Empire.

They had more authority than the Royal Palace, and it was said that they could even destroy the Royal Family if they felt that the Royal Family was a threat to the wellbeing of the Empire. However, everyone knew that it was never going to happen since the Church of Light had some members of the Royal Lumen family who were in high positions of Head Priest.

At the moment, the Church seemed to be completely silent. Only the Mages of Light could be seen, guarding the hallways. The Mages had so much discipline that they rarely moved from their place, which they defended, at times looking like statues.

Most of the Priests in the Church were immersed in their meditation to strengthen themselves even more. They all wanted to achieve breakthroughs to the advanced stages so they could also apply to be Head Priests.

Unfortunately, it wasn't that easy for them. In fact, it was said that achieving a breakthrough was the hardest for a mage of light, especially when it came to advanced stages. Most of the new disciples that the Church had directly recruited were sleeping at this hour, while a rare few were training.

A middle-aged man walked down the stairs, being greeted by all the guards respectfully. They all addressed the man as Head Priest.

The man didn't react, only occasionally nodding in response. He reached the lowest floor, where security only intensified, but even here, no one stopped him as the man had the highest authority in the Holy Church of Light.

The man finally stopped before a silver door. He took a deep breath, gazing at his reflection in the silver door.

The man was the latest addition to the Head Priest. In fact, he had been promoted only a few weeks ago. It was his first time attending a special meeting that was called by other Head Priests.

Even though he didn't know what it was about, he did know that it must be something important since the Head Priests rarely came together like this.

Ever since the last Head of the Church of Light died, the Head Priests were divided into various factions of their own. The Church of Light looked united from the outside, but only when one looked deep inside the swamp did they realize that the Church of Light had never been more divided.

The man took a deep breath, patting his clothes. "I hope it's not something bad."

He pushed the door open, revealing a beautiful hall. There were spheres of light floating near the roof and close to the walls that were keeping the hall bright.

At the end of the door, there was a statue... The statue seemed to be of a woman who was looking like a dignified warrior. The man respectfully bowed to the statue, which was said to belong to the Goddess of Light, also known as the first Holy Mage of Light.

The statue was also completely identical to what Gabriel had seen in the dark temple. The only difference was that the statue he saw was even bigger in size and that it was before other statues. Meanwhile, the statue here was on its own.

In the middle of the hall, there was a long round table. There were twenty seats around the table, and around nineteen of them were already filled, leaving only one seat vacant.

The man was slightly taken aback to realize that he was the last person to arrive here. Even though he was right on time, the others seemingly came even before. He rushed to his seat and greeted all the other Head Priests before sitting down.

The other Head Priests also nodded in response.

"Now that everyone is here, we can begin." An old man nodded, glancing at everyone's face.

If Gabriel had been here, he would've been able to recognize the old man who had just spoken. The man was none other than the Head Priest who had come to his small town to recruit him. The man was surprisingly the oldest Head Priest in the Holy Church of Light and the leader of one of the three Factions.

He was also a part of the Royal Lumen Family and the reason that the Church of Light was so cordial with the Lumen family.

"I have some important news for you all..." The old man took a deep sigh. "That's why I had to call you all at such short notice."

"What is it about?" Another Head Priest asked, looking very grim. If an urgent meeting like this had to be called, then something big must have happened... It seemed like bad news as well.

"It's related to our Holy Grimoire..." The old man answered, letting out a deep sigh.

"What about our Holy Grimoire?"

The Holy Grimoire of Light was the most important thing for the Church of Light. Anything related to that could concern the entire Church and the entire world.

"The Holy Grimoire has finally started walking up, it seems..." The old man answered, keeping his voice low. Even though they were alone in this place, he still spoke as if the walls might have ears.

"You mean..."

One after another, all the Head Priests started standing up as their eyes lit up.

There was only one person who seemed confused after this information was made known to him. He didn't understand what this meant. He was new as a Head Priest and didn't know any secrets. Just what did they mean?

"I mean what you think I do." The old man confirmed. "I think it's soon going to be that time..."

After getting confirmation, most of the Head Priests had a smile on their lips and a shine in their eyes. They took their seats once again.

"You old man! When you called us here, you made it seem like there was some bad news. You scared me for a moment." A dark-haired Head Priest let out a hearty laughter. "So it was a good news! It's finally going to be the time!"

"The time for what?" The new man asked, still curious about what he wasn't getting. What was it time for? And why was everyone so happy? Just what was happening?

The old man noticed the confusion on the middle-aged man's face. He smiled. "You are new, so it's understandable that you don't know such things. Alright, tell me one thing. What do you know about our current Head of Church?"

"I-i haven't seen him yet, but I heard some great stories about him."

"Well, let me tell you a secret." The old man smirked. "All the stories you heard? They were a lie that we spread for other churches to keep our Church's influence alive. In reality, we have had no Holy Priest of Light ever since our last Head died..."

"You mean that conspiracy theory..."

"Yeah, that wasn't a conspiracy theory. We knew that there would be people who would be able to guess that something was wrong, but we made that appear like conspiracy theories. Not like anyone could verify it, after all. We kept this secret even from our own Priests. Only we knew this secret, and now you do."

Another Head Priest took the lead and continued from where the old man stopped. "After our Holy Priest died, the Holy Grimoire of Light went to sleep for some reason. And like that, it couldn't select the next Head Priest. It had been sleeping for a long time, but it's finally starting to wake up..."

"That means the Holy Grimoire is getting ready to select the next Holy Priest! That's why we said it's about time! Anyone from us can become the next Holy Priest if we are selected by the Holy Grimoire!"

"Don't be happy so soon. It's also possible that none of us can be selected by the Holy Grimoire. We can only hope that it's us, but don't forget what happened with the Church of Water."

"Sigh, even if it's none of us, at least we would still have a Holy Priest. If the Grimoire will be making a selection, that person will be worth it. Finally, our Church can start expanding our influence again."

" I'm sure the person will be me! I'm the most capable Mage of Light, after all!"

"Nonsense! We all know I'm better than you. It'll be me."

"In your dreams."

The Head Priests that were believed to be above all material greed, were fighting each other as if they were kids. Then again, it wasn't surprising since the allure of becoming the Holy Priest and the head of the Church of Light was something that no one could ignore.

If one of them was selected by the Holy Grimoire, they were instantly going to become one of the strongest and most influential people in the world. With their experience and the strength given by the Holy Grimoire, there was barely anything that they couldn't achieve.

Inside the Church, the Head Priests were arguing with each other while still being extremely optimistic about the future. Meanwhile, outside, a giant bird flew above the city, getting closer to the Church of Light. The bird started going down as it reached the entrance of the Church of Light.

A young woman jumped off the beautiful bird, landing at the entrance of the Church of Light. The majestic bird disappeared.

"What business does the Academy have with us at this hour?" The Priest at the entrance of the Church asked Xinci, recognizing the young lady.

"I need to meet with your Head Priests."

"At this hour? I don't think that would be possible. The Head Priests are going through a really crucial meeting. If it's not important, please come in the morning."

"You think I would come at this time if it weren't important? The Academy has been attacked by a Dark Mage! We need to talk to the Head Priests about it! How was a dark Mage able to enter the city amidst all the security that you all brag about?!"

Xinci was already quite angry, and seeing the man slow her down; she went off on him.

"Academy attacked by a Dark Mage? How is that possible?!"

"Let your Head Priests decide how it's possible! Take me to them. Or do you think I can't meet him, even though I've arrived as an official representative of our Dean?"

"Fine. Come inside. You can wait inside while I call out Head Priests."

The Priest opened the door and took Xinci inside the Church of Light.

"What?!"

Lambard was standing on the balcony, looking at the lively city that belonged to him, when he suddenly exclaimed in shock.

A woman appeared behind him. "Did something happen...?"

"That guy... It seemed I really underestimated him, even after knowing what his element was. That boy... He even managed to surprise me."

"Are you talking about Gabriel? What did he do?" The woman asked.

"I received a message from my sources at the city of Light. He succeeded..."

"He succeeded in stealing the Eye of Osiris?"

Lambard started laughing heartily in response.

"Wish I was there to see all their faces. He didn't just succeed in stealing the Eye of Osiris! That guy… He cleaned the entire treasury of the Academy, stealing every single artifact he possessed! And you know what's the most fun part?"

"What?"

"He did it when Elora was at the academy!"

It's been a long time since Lambard laughed so heartily.

Gabriel's success was his own success since he had already made a deal with him in exchange for the Ring of Apophis. As soon as Gabriel returned, he had to give the Eye of Osiris to him.

Not only did Gabriel have the eye of Osiris now, but he also had more Numens since he had robbed the entire academy. Lambard had already decided to make more deals with Gabriel in exchange for those precious items. He was prepared to give as much money as Gabriel could ask or even deal in other ways.

"Maria, today is a happy day." Lambard spread his arms, feeling the wing. " It deserves a feast. It deserves a celebration! Start preparing for welcoming Gabriel and Lira. Those two are our dear friends now. We need to show them our sincerity."

"I will handle everything." Maria agreed before she left.

"Gabriel... The heir of Karyk. You really achieved something I didn't expect you to achieve. Your future prospects... They are really impossible to see at this point. I wonder what the future holds for you, but whatever the future may be, it'll certainly be quite interesting... I am eager to see what it will be... How far can you reach before you fly too close to the sun?"

Gabriel stood near the glass door, looking at all the commotion at the academy. It was as he expected. Even though the fire had died down, the academy was still in uproar, all the Dorms were sealed, and all the students who were roaming outside were being instructed to go back to their rooms right away.

Other than the teachers and the guards, no one was allowed to be out in the open.

Eliana was going back to the castle to send a message to the Dean of the Academy about what had happened. The other teachers stayed behind, keeping Elora and the Head Priestesses company, or rather to keep an eye on them.

Elora walked on the soft grass, lost in deep thought.

She had managed to achieve success in the auction at City of Abaddon, spending way beyond what she should've spent, but she didn't care even if the Church of Water bled money. She had managed to outbid all the other representatives from various Churches.

It was very important for her to buy the Map of the Lost City from Lambard. She succeeded as well. Now there was only one thing she needed... That's why she came here directly from the City of Abadon. Unfortunately, before she could get to the artifact she needed, everything was stolen...

In the last one week, she had lost so much. She lost a Head Priestess, which was embarrassing, especially when Ruyi left the Church while accompanying her. In other words, Ruyi was killed by a Dark Mage from right under her nose, and she couldn't do anything. And how a dark Mage had robbed the Academy of Elements as well.

She was certain that it was related to the Church of Darkness, which was really bad news for everyone. If the Church of Darkness returned, they were certainly going to gain more strength and influence with each passing second. They were also going to be hungry for revenge.

Also, it was slightly harder than last time as well. Last time, they all knew where they were going to find the Dark Mages. They knew where the Church of Darkness was established and where the Ruler of Darkness was going to be.

All the Holy Priests had ambushed the Ruler of Darkness together, finally managing to kill him and all his supporters, but now...? Now they didn't even know where they were going to find the enemies.

Last time, the Dark Mages were in the open, but now the Dark Mages were hiding in the shadows, attacking their enemies when they wished and how they wished. Fighting an enemy like that was always hard, especially now.

Last time, all the Churches had ambushed the Ruler of Darkness together, but now the new Ruler of Darkness was ambushing them while becoming stronger.

Lost in her thoughts, Elora kept walking, not realizing how far she had walked. Ultimately, she ended up near the Dorms of the House of Light.

Gabriel stood near the glass door, looking out. Through the glass, he noticed Elora walking, being accompanied by Head Priestesses.

"I was right... It's her." Seeing Elora with his own eyes, he confirmed his suspicions.

Unfortunately for him, Elora also sensed something. She felt as if someone was looking at her. And it wasn't a gaze she recognized. She raised her head, glancing toward the window.

There was nothing she could see, even as she looked up.

Gabriel had moved aside at the right time. He stood with his back against the wall, still holding the cursed letter.

Elora lowered her head before she continued walking, losing herself in her thoughts again.

There was only one person who could see through his illusion in the academy at the moment, and it was Elora.

Gabriel walked to the bed and stopped looking outside. Not as if he could change the outcome of what was happening. He had finished what he was here for. Now all he needed was to leave.

He lay on the bed, finally realizing the letter was in his hand. However, he didn't send the letter back to his ring. He just gazed at the folded letter, quite curious about what was written in it.

There was a possibility that he could read it since he had the support of a Grimoire, which could counter the effect of a Numen on his soul, but he wasn't sure if the effects were definitely on the soul. He didn't know if the Grimoire could protect him if the letter's curse affected his body.

It was certainly a risk for him... A risk that he seriously thought about. He could see what was in the letter by just unfolding it. He even felt as if the letter was calling on him to open it... attracting him and his mind…

Karyk was the person who was claimed to be the origin of all the human gods. He was supposed to be the person who destroyed the natural balance, which gave birth to more gods. He was the essence of everything.

Gabriel believed he was the heir of Karyk, sharing that same element. In fact, it was said that he was the first person to receive Karyk's element ever since Karyk disappeared. The letter was addressed to Karyk, so it made him really curious, especially since it talked about something that Karyk did.

He wondered if the letter could lead him to answers regarding the disappearance of Karyk. He had to control his hands to not open the letter. Unfortunately, the allure of the letter was just too much. The letter was calling onto him.

"Argh."

Ultimately, Gabriel realized that he might not be able to control himself for longer if he held onto the letter. If there was someone who could tell him more about the history of this letter, it was Lambard. But until then, he decided not to open it.

He sent the letter back into his Spatial Domain.

He got off the bed and went in to take a shower again to calm his head once more.

In one part of the City of Light, Gabriel was taking a shower. In another part of the city, the Head Priests of Light were just informed about the Academy of Light being attacked by possibly a Dark Mage.

"Impossible. There's no way a Dark Mage can enter this city without us knowing about it! Don't forget about the barrier! It was cast by our Holy Priest. There is no way for any Dark Mage to pass through without alerting others, not even using teleportation!"

"That's right! It can't be a Dark Mage! That's preposterous! It must be someone else..."

"The element has been confirmed by Lady Elora herself." Xinci insisted. "I'm not making this up. She confirmed that it was a Dark Mage."

"What does she know? She's a naive kid. Just because she became Holy Priest, she thinks she can call faults to our protection barrier? That girl must be mistaken."

"We will come check ourselves! We will see with our own eyes!"

All the Head Priests decided to check themselves. Unfortunately, since some of them needed to stay behind, it was decided that only five of them were going to go and confirm if there was a possibility of the story being true.

However, the five that were selected to go were the strongest Head Priests in the Church at the moment. The group of five also included the Head Priest, who had met with Gabriel before.

"Why don't you tell the Holy Priest of Light? I'm sure it concerns him as well," Xinci suggested. She had come here to call the Head of the Church of Light since that's what Elora wanted. She wanted all the Holy Priests to come together to talk about it since it concerned everyone.

The Old man's face twitched in anger. "Nonsense! We haven't even confirmed if what you're telling us is true, and you're asking us to disturb his rest? We will check ourselves and then decide if it's worth informing him or if it's a false alarm."

There was no way the man could inform the Head of Church yet since there was no Head of Church of Light at the moment. The Holy Grimoire was ownerless.

The Head Priests rejected Xinci's suggestions, making Xinci feel that these people were really arrogant. They were even doubting her and Elora? She didn't know that it wasn't their arrogance but their helplessness. They couldn't call the man who didn't exist.

Moreover, they actually had faith in their barrier, which had never failed even once. They didn't believe that it was possible that a Dark Mage passed through the barrier that easily, even if it was the Owner of the Grimoire of Darkness.

The Holy Priest of Light had used the Holy Grimoire of Light to cast the spell. It was impossible to break it, let alone pass through it undetected, without breaking it.

They left the Church and flew to the Academy of Elements.

Many people who were near the Academy heard the loud explosion. They also saw the entrance and the exit of the Royal City being sealed not long after. No one was allowed to enter or leave. This made them realize that something big had happened at the academy.

The one who was more perceptive also saw the Head Priests of Light flying toward the Academy.

Most of the people were sleeping at this hour, but the ones who were awake were really worried as to what was happening in the city. What was that explosion? Why was the city being sealed? And the Head Priests of Light were also involved, that too at this hour?

The Head Priests were also escorted inside the Church of Light by Xinci. By the time, Qin was also back after having the entire city sealed. He had placed hundreds of Mages at the entrance and the exit of the city.

The Head Priests were brought to the site of the explosion.

"Where is Elora?" The old man asked, finding no members of the Church of Water here.

Seeing him address Elora directly by her name, just because she was younger than him, Xinci felt that it was quite disrespectful, especially since the position Elora had. She was technically equal in position to the Holy Priest of Light.

"She must be nearby. I'll inform her that envoys from the Church of Light are here." Xinci left, rolling her eyes. She really wanted to beat these idiots up, but she controlled her urges.

As Xinci left, the Head Priests of Light started observing the sight of the battle. They climbed on top of the rubble.

The old man grimaced. The closer he went to the spot where the Infernal King was standing before, the more he was able to sense it.

Since they were Mages of Light, they were more sensitive to the energy of darkness than the Mages of Water.

"I can feel the aura of darkness, but it's nothing live I've ever sensed before... It has that same old hint of darkness, but it's something more as well... Something much darker... Something much more rotten..."

"I sense it too. Could it be that Elora was right? The Grimoire is Darkness has selected an Heir?"

"I don't know, but this aura... It's not complete... The Holy Water Spell has ruined most of this aura, so I can't be sure about it, but it's definitely nothing like I've ever sensed before. It's definitely not an ordinary Mage of Darkness. So it's quite possible that it's the person selected by the Grimoire of Darkness."

"I also have the same feeling. So it's definitely the heir of darkness. No wonder the museum was targeted. They were here for the Ancestral Staff of Darkness, and now they have it. The useless Academy couldn't protect one thing! We never should've let them hold the Ancestral Staff of Darkness!"

"It's because of them that the Dark Mages have the Ancestral Staff as well. This should increase their strength by multiple folds."

"That's certainly a concern, but what's more concerning is that they were able to pass through the barrier, and we didn't even sense it. That in itself is worth worrying about. If the Dark Mages can now enter the city without alerting us, doesn't that mean the city might have hundreds of them that we know nothing about?"

"This is a real headache, for sure. And at a time when we don't have a Holy Priest of Light. Fortunately, the Grimoire is starting to wake up. It won't be long now."

The five Head Priests discussed amongst themselves. Even though they weren't in the same factions and hated others, when it came to the Church, they were together.

"I really hope the Grimoire won't select a newbie like the Grimoire of Water did. We need someone experienced to get that strength at times like this."

"Agreed."

It didn't take the Head Priests long to confirm that Xinci was telling the truth. They waited for Elora, observing their surroundings. They also cast a spell around them so no one but themselves could hear what they were talking about.

"How are we going to deal with it for now?" The old man asked. "If we confirm that it's the work of a Dark Mage, Elora will ask to meet our Holy Priest. But if we lie and say that it wasn't the work of a Dark Mage, that would be bad as well since it's not something we can let pass. It concerns the world."

"Both the options are bad. I think we can only use a third option. Lie and tell that our Holy Priest isn't in the city and that he left last week for something important."

"What if they asked where he went?"

"Just tell them he went to the Lost City to explore as well. Isn't that great?" The dark-haired man smirked. "The Holy Priestesses of Water died because of that place. We can say he went there to find out the secret of that place. That can give us a small window of time which we can stretch for as long as we live."

"Agreed. We have been lying about his existence all this while to maintain the dignity of our Church. Why not lie a little more?"

All the head Priests seemed to be on the same track for now. They decided what they were going to say.

"Alright, we will do that. Now enough discussions. They are coming."

In the distance, they noticed Elora returning with the others.

Elora looked around, seemingly trying to find someone.

"Is your Church Head not here?" she asked, after failing to find.

Even though she had never seen the new Head of the Church of Light, she was sure that it was none of them since she couldn't feel it.

The old man stepped forward. "He won't be able to come."

He told the excuse that they had just decided about how the Head of the Church of Light wasn't in the city anymore.

Hearing their answer, Xinci looked at them weirdly. Didn't they tell her that the Holy Priest of Light was in the Church, and they just didn't want to disturb him? Were they lying now, or did they lie to her? Whatever the case may be, they definitely lied to one.

'As expected, the ones who act like the gatekeeper of purity are the ones who sin the most.' She didn't express her thoughts out loud, keeping them to herself.

Elora was also taken aback, confused as to how he could go to the Lost City of Gods. The only way to even find that city was by using the map that she possessed. She had spent so much money to buy it. Did the Head of the Church of Light also manage to find a map somewhere?

It could definitely be possible since the map that was used by the Holy Priestesses of Water before her was missing. It could've been possible that someone found the map and sold it to the Church of Light.

"That's quite unfortunate."

She also wanted to go to the Lost City, but now that she was facing this headache, she couldn't leave as that would be like leaving the Church of Water on its own to fend off against the Mages of Darkness.

First, she needed to find out how the Mages of Darkness were able to enter the city. But after that, she didn't know what she could do. Locating that person was going to be impossible at this point.

"If only I knew where they would go next..."

"Wait... Lambard!" Elora exclaimed out loud.

The Mages of Darkness who killed her Head Priestesses were dealing with Lambard. He addressed them as sellers who found the artifact and sold it to him!

"I think I know where we will find our Dark Mages!"

"Where?" The old man asked. "And how do you know?!"

"If the Church of Darkness is trying to make a return, not only will they need lots of money but also many other resources as well. And who deals in illegal resources for both sides? Lambard! He is the only one who still deals with Dark Mages as well!" Elora exclaimed.

"The Dark Mages were definitely here for the Ancestral Staff of Darkness, but they stole all the other Artifacts as well, many of which would be useless for them. What would they do with them?" she asked. She was surprised why she didn't think of it before!

"They will sell it to Lambard in exchange for something they need!" The old man realized what she was trying to imply, and it made perfect sense. They had a place to start their search with.

Elora was concerned about the heir selected by the Grimoire of Darkness, believing it was the man she fought. Everyone else also thought the same. Not a single person amongst them knew how wrong they were.

The real owner of the Grimoire of Darkness was Lira, who was still waiting near the city for Gabriel's return. She remained inside the forest, keeping an eye on the city.

As everyone was concerned about her, she just laid on the soft grass near the pong, imaging with her pendant, which was the artifact form of her Grimoire of Darkness.

It had only been two days since Gabriel entered the city, so she believed he was still analyzing the academy. She believed that he was going to attempt the theft on the last day of the week or possibly the second last. If only she knew how hasty Gabriel had been.

Lira was in the middle of the forest, but at another part in the first, another person appeared.

A formation circle appeared on the grass. A figure appeared above the formation.

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Lelin came out of the city, still folding into the white orb. He gazed at the city of light in the distance.

" Who knew it was going to be that easy? A fake letter and a nice illusion of the Church of Light Carriage, and they all fell for it. It definitely helps that no one knows who the Head of the Church of Light is... Such idiots."

"Still, I didn't expect to meet him there... That person... How long has it been since I last..."

Lelin appeared to lose himself in some deep thought before composing himself.

"He was too weak though. Should I have killed him when I had the opportunity...?" Lelin asked as if talking to himself. However, as soon as he finished speaking, he felt a dark presence around him.

A cold blade touched his throat, which could make anyone's soul shiver.

,m "I was kidding. I know you won't allow me." Lelin rolled his eyes, not looking scared in the least. "Why do you think I didn't attack him seriously and left?"

He turned around, gazing at the figure which stood behind him. A dark specter floated before him, shrouded in an aura of death.

He flashed a bright grin, waving the white orb before the specter. "We have it now. Shall we get going?"

"You left one behind..." The Spectre answered coldly.

"What do you mean I left one behind? There was only one in the box. This is the one."

The specter shook his head. "There were two... You lost one."

"Shall I go back?" Lelin asked. It was just now that he was informed that there were two orbs in the box. He didn't see the second before.

"It's too late now." The dark specter answered, gazing toward the city. "One shall be enough... For now."

Lira sensed another presence in the forest that appeared out of nowhere. She was sure that it was a mage.

Suspicious, she stood up and flew in the direction where she sensed the presence. She flew through the forest, soon reaching her destination.

Unfortunately, by the time she reached there, the place was empty. There was no one there. And the aura once again disappeared.

Gabriel couldn't care less about what was happening outside. At this point in time, the safest place for him was inside his room. He was supposed to be sealed in the room. What better alibi than it? No matter who was suspected, it wasn't going to be him.

He got dressed after coming out of the shower and observed the room to make sure there was nothing suspicious. He even cleaned his room before he walked to the bed.

It was three in the night when he finally closed his eyes to go to sleep. Tonight, he was very relaxed. Even though the outside was surrounded by Head Priest and Head Priestesses of Two Holy Churches along with all the teachers and Elora, he was still feeling safe.

He had his special attire, which hid his aura even from Elora. The only thing which could get him caught was if he came before Elora, which he definitely wasn't going to do.

Moreover, it wasn't as if Elora was going to check every student's room. No matter what, students were going to be the last people who would be suspicious at this point.

He believed that there was no way they would even consider the possibility that someone would rob all the artifacts of the Academy, only to then hide at the Academy itself. The most dangerous place was often the safest place. And if they still decided to get all rooms checked by Elora, then he was going to deal with it as things came.

For now, he didn't think negatively since the chances of that happening were almost negligible. In fact, there was also a possibility that they were going to consider that the thief had already left the Academy and the city. Even Elora couldn't stay here all day after finding nothing. Sooner or later, she had to leave.

It felt really good when the plan came together perfectly in the form of success, all thanks to his Grimoire. The only thing which didn't go as he wanted was the white orb which he lost to Lelin.

He was still curious about what these two orbs were and why did Lelin want them? And what about that Spectre? Why was it in the Academy? There were so many questions in his head that kept him awake even now. It took him an entire hour before he actually fell asleep at four.

"The City of Abadon? The domain of Lambard." The Head Priest nodded. "You're right. I think we should be able to find the Dark Mages there, but then again, the city is Lambard's Domain. We can't do anything inside the city, can we?"

"We know. I heard the stories about how the Church of Light tried to destroy the city of Abaddon and failed," Joan chimed in. "It won't be easy to do anything in the city."

Hearing Joan remind him about the past failure of the Church of Light, the Head Priest's face twitched in anger.

"Nonsense. We didn't fail. We just let them live. The city is a Numen which was impossible to destroy without putting a significant effort, and we didn't think it was worth it."

"You mean you can destroy it now? Isn't that better? We should be able to catch all the Dark Mages in one stroke!" Joan smirked, realizing that the man was bluffing.

"We definitely can, but we don't have our Leader. We need him to use his Grimoire for it. Without that, it's not possible to do anything inside the City of Abadon."

"If we can't do anything inside the city, then what about outside?" Elora suggested. "We can't attack the city, but Lambard doesn't have any control outside. We all know that it's impossible to Teleport inside the city of Abaddon. So the one way to enter is through the main entrance."

"The Dark Mages will have to take the main route to enter the city. And even if they enter before we get there, they'll have to leave sooner or later, won't they? We can set an ambush."

"Do you think that the new Ruler of Darkness will come himself to sell the artifacts?" Yann asked. "Even if you go by the plan, it's not certain that you'll find him."

"He will definitely come himself. Only he can access the storage realm where he kept the artifacts. If he doesn't come, then he will send another Dark Mage that he trusts. Even if we catch that Dark Mage, he can lead us to their new base. In any case, this is the only option that we have at this point."

"Either we take this opportunity, or we sit idly and allow the Church of Darkness to get stronger until it's ready to attack us openly."

"Fine. We will go with you. We will take part in this plan."

"Not only us, but we would also need more help. And I know just the right person. Do a thing. Go to the City of Abadon. I'll meet you there."

"Where are you going?" The old man asked, watching Elora leave. He couldn't believe that the young girl had just issued him a command.

"I'm going to the Church of Flames. That's the only one that falls on our route. We are going against the Heir of a Grimoire. This might be our last opportunity to catch him. And I don't want to underestimate that guy. The man was able to use the dark flames of his Grimoire. What better person to counter him than the Ruler of Flames."

"With the three Churches working together, we should be able to take him down."

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Elora left with the Head Priestesses, not wasting a single moment. She believed the Dark Mage had already left the city, and sooner or later, he was going to be en-route to the city of Abaddon. The faster they were, the faster they could catch him.

Unfortunately, the person they were trying to catch up to hadn't left the city. He didn't even leave his room. While others were trying to catch up to him, Gabriel was sleeping in his room peacefully.

For the first time in the last two days, Gabriel didn't have a nightmare. Instead, he had a really peaceful dream tonight.

In the team, he was lying on massive grasslands. He was the one person here, lying on soft grass, looking at the clouded sky with his hands under his head to give him support.

Everything was so peaceful here that he felt like staying here for an eternity. In the silence, only the rustling of grass against the wind could be heard, which sounded like a melody to him.

However, the silence didn't last for long.

"Are you still angry about that?" He heard a voice. The voice was so sweet, seemingly belonging to a girl.

He tilted his head to his right, where the voice came from. In the distance, he could see a woman running toward him, dressed in a beautiful green gown. The gown was making it troublesome for her to run, slowing her down, but she didn't care.

The woman seemed to be in her early twenties. She had beautiful green hair like that of Nature which was flying with the winds as she ran. Her light green hair matched her gorgeous eyes, which also had green pupils, only having innocence in them.

On the back of her left hand, Gabriel saw a green mark, which he had seen quite a few times recently. It was the mark of the Element of Nature. Was she a Mage of Nature? For some reason, he could feel that she was way more than that... For some reason, he also felt that he had seen that face before. He just couldn't recall it.

The woman had a golden crown on her head, which appeared to be made from some really unique flowers. She also had a necklace around her neck, but the necklace looked quite odd. It was as if it was less of a necklace and more of chains that were attached to a circular golden pendant that hung near her chest.

The woman stopped near Gabriel. She sat beside Gabriel. "You really made me run a lot today. I don't think I've ever run this much. Why do you get angry over such small matters?"

Gabriel looked at the woman in confusion. What small matters was she talking about?

'Just once, I want to have some nice and peaceful dreams. Why do all of them turn out to be so bizarre… Wait a minute... That face...'

It was only now that Gabriel remembered where he had seen that face before.

'It was on the statues in the temple! The face of the Goddess of Nature! Don't tell me; she is the Goddess of Nature? The First Holy Priest of Nature?!'

"Why are you looking at me like that?" The woman asked, noticing Gabriel staring at her like she was a ghost.

"You are the Goddess of Nature?" Gabriel asked. Since the woman seemed to notice his strange expressions, Gabriel wondered if she could also hear him.

Even if it was a dream, he was really curious to know what mess his mind was trying to show him.

"Why are you addressing me with that distant title as the commoners do?" the woman seemed confused, being addressed as the Goddess of Nature. "Call me Eileen like you always do."

"Eileen?" Gabriel frowned. "Where are we?"

Gabriel could only see a green field as far as the eyes could see. It looked like a place he had never been to before, even in real life.

"Heh, of course, you can't recognize this place. It's been a long time since you last came here. When you came here last time, this used to be barren land, but today, it is what you see. This is the beauty of nature."

Eileen fell on the soft grass beside Gabriel.

"I was informed that you came to meet me, but you left in anger. I was also told why that was. Can I apologize to you from his side? My brother didn't know better..."

"Come, I will make him apologize to you personally!" She abruptly stood up like a hyperactive child. She held Gabriel's wrist, making him get up as well.

Gabriel was dragged by Eileen, who kept talking about how wrong her brother was.

Gabriel could only follow along in confusion, wondering just what was happening.

Eileen soon brought Gabriel to the entrance of a beautiful city which was unlike anything he had ever seen. It was the greenest city he had ever seen. It was like Eileen had gone a bit overboard in making the city to her liking. There was grass even on the roads. No carriages were allowed to enter the city. Whoever came inside the city, they had to walk.

In fact, if one ignored all the houses and beautiful structures, this place could easily be confused with a huge garden with exotic flowers that Gabriel had never seen before. There were trees that provided them with shade wherever they went.

"This place..."

Initially, Gabriel was attracted by the beauty of this city, but his mind soon noticed something else as well. He raised his head, looking at all the houses and their positions. He remembered seeing something similar before.

'The glimpse I saw before when I touched the black orb… It was this place...'

Amongst the four glimpses he saw, the second one was something he found really similar to this place. There was a city that was covered in water. It was as if the city had faced a tsunami. Only the top of a few houses could be seen above water.

Whatever portions of the houses he was able to see above all the water were completely identical to the top of the houses here. Even their positions were the same.

"Eileen, is there any sea or river nearby?" he asked Eileen.

Eileen shook her head. "There is a small pond in the middle of the city. Other than that, there is no sea or river nearby. Why?"

'A pond can't bring a tsunami. There is no sea or even river nearby. This city also seems to be on high grounds. Where did all that water come from...? If there is no natural source, that can only mean one thing... Magic. The Mages of Water.'

Eileen brought Gabriel to her castle. She was greeted by the maids who worked for her. Just as she was about to enter, she saw the doors open, and a man step out of the castle, accompanied by two guards.

The man didn't look much older either. In fact, he only seemed to be a few years older than Eileen. As soon as the man stepped out of the castle, he noticed Gabriel. His expressions became twisted again. However, he decided to ignore him for now and not pay attention.

He stopped looking at him and continued walking without caring about anything else.

"Stop right there!" Eileen commanded. Thousands of Vines came out of the ground, blocking the path of the man.

"What?" The man rolled his eyes, stopping.

"I want you to apologize to Karyk for what you said before..."

"You mean that? I wasn't even talking to him, so I couldn't have said anything to him. He was the one hearing what I was speaking with the others. Also, not like I said anything wrong, did I? He is a bringer of death who should be kept as far as possible. He is bad luck. What's wrong with what I said?"

Not only did the man refuse to apologize, he repeated what he had spoken. "The whole world might be afraid of him, but I'm not."

Eileen's brother didn't have any strength of his own. In fact, he only felt proud because his sister was the goddess of Nature. Because he had his sister, he was sure that Karyk wasn't going to do anything to him.

No matter what his sister said, she was always going to side with the family in the end and protect him.

'Again I'm being addressed as Karyk. This can't be a coincidence. Second dream where I'm addressed as Karyk. Another dream where everything looks so realistic. It can't be my mind making up things. This must be the work of the Grimoire.'

Gabriel seemed more concerned about his own self than what this man was speaking. He didn't care if he was called the bringer of death. Those were childish insults for a man his age.

He gazed at the back of his right hand, observing the mark. The mark was completely identical to what he had in real life. However, just like before, he didn't have a mark on his left hand. There was no mark of light on his left hand.

'I should be right. This is the Grimoire of Necromancy, showing me these visions. Since the Grimoire can't talk to me, it must be its way of telling me what happened.'

"In fact, I even heard stories that this guy ate his own family. You think this kind of man deserves our respect? You should stay away from him as well, Eileen. The man who even ate his own family, just what kind of demon must he be?"

The man didn't stop with his insults, going even farther. He still continued.

"Ah?" Even now, Gabriel didn't react. He didn't care what he was called in this dream, but for some reason, his right hand moved on its own.

It was as if the body wasn't in his control anymore.

"You're right. I'm a demon who ate my own family." Words came out of his lips. "But what made you think you could talk to me like that?"

Plop~

Eileen's brother dropped to the ground, lifeless. It was as if Karyk had resisted long enough, but when his sister and family were brought into the equation, he decided to show the man just why it was that the entire world was scared of him!

Eileen froze in place, seeing her brother be killed. It all happened so fast that she couldn't do anything. No matter how favorable she thought of Karyk, she still cared for her brother the most. Even though her brother had a sharp tongue, he was still her brother. And he was killed right before her eyes.

Even Gabriel was taken aback. Just what was happening? How did his body suddenly lose control? He did so many things throughout this dream, like asking questions, but something like this didn't happen.

It was as if he was allowed to have control over minor portions of this dream which didn't change things much, but the core couldn't be changed. It was like the Grimoire specifically wanted him to know what happened here...

Karyk had killed Eileen's brother right before her eyes!

Gabriel regained control of the body, only to turn to Eileen. He could see her frozen in place as if she still couldn't come to believe what had just happened.

"You killed my brother..." She muttered as a year trickled down her cheeks. "Over something so small... You killed him!"

She treated Gabriel like a friend, and he did this to her...? Over something so small? He took her last family member, leaving her without family as well! He made her all alone in this world without even thinking twice.

The wall of vines that she had used to block her brother started going crazy.

"I-"

Gabriel reached out his hand, attempting to say something, but before he could, a vine hit him from the back, sending him flying.

His body flew into the distance, crashing into the castle wall.

"Wait!" He yelled, sitting up. His eyes opened wide as he woke from his dreams, realizing that he was still in his room.

"Arghhhh!" He yelled at the top of his lungs to let out all his frustration. All these dreams! In the last three days, he was never allowed to sleep peacefully. All his dreams ended up being bizarre.

He glared at the black ring on his finger. "What are you trying to tell me?! Is that really a memory? At least tell me what that was! Don't make me play a guessing game anymore!"

He was mostly sure that what he was seeing recently were memories since they were all related to Karyk, his family, his empire, and the people he used to know.

However, there was also a small chance that it had nothing to do with his ring, and it was just a fragment of his mind's imagination since he was so intrigued by Karyk! But still, three dreams in three days! It was too much to be a coincidence!

He once again dropped to his bed. He had slept, yet he felt tired. These dreams made him even more tired than his sleep could replenish him.

What was worse was that he could never know for sure just what these dreams were, which frustrated him the most.

"If it's a dream, then it's nonsense, but if it's a memory, it means Karyk killed Eileen's brother. That could explain why Eileen would be against him. Maybe that's also what led to the fight between Eileen and Karyk. But Karyk shouldn't be able to use water. How did that city get buried underwater?"

"Could it be that this incident was what made all the gods turn against Karyk? Was this why they wiped all history that belonged to Karyk, even his statues? This seems too simple. He was quite strong. I'm sure the Goddess of Nature can't kill him. He was the God of Death and Afterlife after all."

"He was also the strongest god, according to Lambard. Just for Eileen's brother, the other gods shouldn't go against him. But still, this seems like an important piece in Karyk's history."

"He really had some anger issues, but then again, he was forced to absorb the soul of his family... The pain and torment of all that... If I was in his place, I can't even imagine. I would've gone crazy."

"It's all past though. All the Gods and Goddesses are dead. Even Demigods don't exist." He got off the bed and stood on the ground, stretching his arms. There was nothing for him to worry about.

He walked to the glass door and looked out the balcony to see what the situation outside was.

He couldn't see much of the Academy through his balcony, but things seemed relatively peaceful for now. It was as if the Academy had come to terms with the commotion of last night.

He wondered if Elora was still at the academy or if she had left. He couldn't see any Head Priests of Light from here either.

Tuck Tuck~

Gabriel observed the academy through the glass when he heard a knock on the door.

He walked to the mirror to return to his Illusion of the student he was pretending to be. He observed his room one last time before walking to the door.

He opened the door.

He could see Gerrick standing outside the door. He pushed Gabriel aside and entered the room.

"Did you need something?" Gabriel asked, watching Gerrick move to the window. He observed the window, which was still sealed like it was supposed to be.

"Yeah. The tests of the Crown have been canceled."

"Really? Why?" Gabriel asked, acting surprised. "Did they finally find the real killer?"

"Possibly. You don't know anything, do you? Then again, you were sealed in the room, so you didn't hear the conversation outside." Gerrick unlocked the glass door that led to the balcony, unsealing it.

"What happened?" Gabriel asked again.

"There has been a theft. A dark mage managed to infiltrate the academy and stole everything from the Museum. He even stole the Crown of Elisus, so it's literally impossible to make anyone go through the Test of the Crown. Only the artifacts that weren't in the museum are safe."

He kept the lock in his pocket and started leaving.

"In any case, there is no need for the test. The Academy believes that the killer was that dark mage as well who ran away. He had some enmity with Hawrin's family, so probably he took the opportunity to kill him when he was here. That's why you and Caen are free. You can go out now. Also, there won't be any classes today."

After providing basic information to Gabriel, Garrick left since he also needed to unseal Caen's room as well.

"That's convenient. So Caen doesn't need to lose his talent either. But what about Elora? Is she still in the Academy? If she is, that would be troublesome for me leaving the dorms. I need to find out."

He closed the door behind him and left the room as well, leaving the Dorms.

No matter where he went, he overheard students talk about what happened last night. It was the topic of conversation everywhere since it wasn't often that something like this happened.

Through these conversations, he also managed to find out that the Church of Water and the Church of Light also had their envoys present here last night. Both sides left after making sure that the Dark Mage wasn't at the academy anymore.

That news was the best news for Gabriel. So he could actually roam freely.

He stepped out of the Dorms. Now that he wasn't in a race against time to finish his task, he could finally relax and see the rest of the academy.

He was especially curious about the Tower of Challenges which ranked all the Mages in the history of the Academy. He really wanted to try that, especially now that he was a mid-tier mage, which was generally most of the fourth-year students.

With Elora's absence, Gabriel didn't feel the need to worry about much. Not only did he prove his 'innocence' to the academy, but he also did what he was here to do.

Now he could leave whenever he wished, but leaving so soon felt like a waste of the opportunity for him. There were many more places in the academy to explore for now. By going back so soon, he would be just wasting the opportunity he had in the form of the Ring of Apophis.

He still had four more nights here, and he wanted to use them to the fullest.

He didn't need Spirit Stones. He didn't care about the Academy Points system either. There was a Treasure Pavilion which contained treasures made by the academy that could be purchased with points.

He didn't have many points since he had only been here for two days and didn't earn any points, but even if he didn't, he didn't think there was anything that was available to be bought which could intrigue him.

He had already stolen one of the most precious treasures of the academy that even the teachers weren't allowed to touch. If he considered all the treasures he had now, he was probably the wealthiest person in the entire city after the Holy Church of Light.

Each of the treasures that he possessed was going to be bought at a really expensive cost if he was to sell them. With such great treasures, he didn't think he needed anything else here.

He walked past the Treasures Pavilion, which sold artifacts.

On his way to the Tower of Challenges, his eyes fell on another interesting place. He was told that the place was the Library of Spells. It was where books written by teachers and other students were kept if they wished to donate that knowledge to the academy.

There were quite a lot of spells amongst those books that were created from scratch by some highly talented mages. Gabriel had bought a spell book of Light from outside, which had some decent spells, but there were no powerful spells in them. They were all spells that were publically available.

He wanted more powerful spells, and the library could help him with that.

After thinking for a brief moment, he entered the Library of Spells.

Entering the library of Spells, the first thing that Gabriel noticed was just how big this place was. As far as eyes could see, he saw a long line of library stacks that seemed unending. The Library appeared to be much bigger from the inside than it looked from the outside.

All the stacks were filled with books. Curious, he walked to the first stack, only to be stopped by a young man.

"May I help you?" The young man had the attire of a Mage of Water, seemingly from the third year.

The man worked at the Library as a helper in exchange for some credits.

"I want to see some books, possibly some about Spells of Light," Gabriel answered.

"I'm afraid you aren't allowed yet." The man shook his head, disappointing Gabriel.

"And why not?"

"Because you don't have the credits needed to even look at the cheapest book here. From your attire, it's clear you're a first-year student. That means you just joined two days ago. Even if I count all the credits, you would've been given until now, that's not enough."

The man gave an excuse that Gabriel didn't have enough Credits, which Gabriel found a bit odd. Didn't points come into play when he wanted to take a book off a shelf? There shouldn't be a cost to just walking around.

"Can I at least wander into the library to observe it? At least I want to decide which book I want to strive for and how long it is going to take for me to get enough credits for that."

"You Mages of Light are always so... Anyway, I'm afraid you aren't allowed. Even to enter the library to decide on the book, you will need to spend at least a hundred credits since we'll need to assign a helper to show you around and help you decide which book would suit you." The young man exclaimed, feeling slightly irritated.

It wasn't odd for Mages of Light to be this stupid. They always thought that they could get whatever they wanted and that they were the best. The kid hadn't been at the academy even for a few days, and he was already trying to hit above his height.

"And I am already sure that you don't have that many points, so please don't waste your and our time." No matter what, the man didn't budge from his stance, which made Gabriel also somewhat annoyed.

If he wasn't controlling himself for now, he would've loved to see how this man was going to stop him.

For now, he just gave up and turned around to leave. He walked out of the Library, taking one more glance at the building. For a moment, a thought crossed his head that maybe he should empty this place as well, but he dropped the idea.

This was too much work over nothing. Moreover, sooner or later, he was going to return to this place when he was ready for an all out war with the Holy Church of Light. At that time, he could take whatever he wanted.

He left the place.

Not long after Gabriel left the library, an old man arrived behind the young man who had kicked Gabriel out.

"Was someone here?" The old man asked. For some reason, he appeared a bit uneasy.

"No one," The young man answered since he considered Gabriel as an insignificant person.

Walking through the grass fields, Gabriel reached the Mission Hall. It was another important place at the academy, which was mostly used by the students to get points.

As if his curiosity was once again ignored, he walked to the Mission Hall as well, trying to see just what kind of missions were being given to the students.

"I hope they don't charge points to enter as well since this place is supposed to be what gives points."

He entered the mission hall. The place was quite crowded. Then again, all the classes were off today, so it wasn't surprising.

He walked to the massive board in the distance, which had many letters and posters that contained information about the mission. If someone wanted a mission, all they needed to do was note the number on the mission poster and report it to the incharge of Mission Hall to get that mission assigned to them.

Gabriel walked to the board, observing the missions. Just as he expected, the missions were quite easy. They were for weaker mages, so it wasn't quite surprising. The real difficult missions were on higher floors, but he knew that he wasn't going to be allowed there. Then again, maybe he could?

He looked around, realizing that no one was looking at him. There was no one here who recognized him, so it was quite easy as well.

He walked near the window, looking outside with his back turned against everyone else. Since his back was facing them, no one should see him. In any case, no one paid attention to him either.

He planned to make changes to his badge and his face through the illusion to get an entry into the higher floor, but just as he was about to attempt it, he stopped.

He didn't cast a new illusion as he thought of a possibility.

"If I pretend to be a Fourth Year Mage of Light, and there is a fourth year Mage of Light on the floor above, it would be troublesome. It's the same with other elements..."

At the right time, he remembered that the students here trained in the same classes for years. There was no way they wouldn't find seeing a stranger who was supposed to be in their class odd.

He dropped the plan, realizing that it was quite stupid. There was no need to take this stupid decision just to satisfy his curiosity.

Dropping the plan, he started leaving when he noticed a piece of paper lying on the ground, upside down.

Curious, he picked up the piece of paper and turned it around, getting slightly surprised. This was the mission acceptance letter!

Once a student entered the Mission Hall and accepted a mission, they were given a handwritten letter that mentioned what mission they had selected and their identification so they could claim their rewards later on.

Going through the paper, it seemed like the mission was accepted by a fourth-year student from the first floor. It also seemed to be the highest tier mission that was given to students. The student appeared to be a Mage of Summoning named Aira.

More than the details of the mission, what surprised Gabriel was the content of the mission, especially since the content was directly related to him!

Reading the content, Gabriel understood that it was a mission related to him. The mission talked about a distant town. The name of the town was also recognized by him. It was his own town, after all.

The mission was posted just recently. It asked the students to go to the town and investigate what actually happened there. The Academy wanted the students to possibly interrogate the people of the town to find out what had happened.

"It looks like the mission was issued because of Hawrin. The academy wants to dig out the past of Hawrin. In turn, they want to dig out my past too."

The mission also mentioned that the town was mostly empty by now, and no one lived there. The person who took the mission needed to investigate the town and then locate the people of that town, who were supposed to shift to nearby towns.

The mission wasn't too complicated. It was basically a reconnaissance mission that didn't have much danger. However, still the classification of this mission was the highest level of danger, all because the mission was possibly related to a Dark Mage.

Amongst the criteria of the mission, it was mentioned that the student needed to be a Fourth Year Mage and someone who had a way to escape in case he came face to face with a Dark Mage.

"Whoever took this mission, it seems that they are quite capable if they think that they can outrun Lira when she wants to kill someone. Seems naive; still, maybe they might have a way."

While Gabriel finished reading the mission, a person entered the Mission Hall, seemingly looking for something. It was a young woman in her early twenties who was wearing a beautiful white gown and a white robe on top of that.

Seeing the Symbol of Summoning on her hand, Gabriel understood what she was looking for. She was probably Aira who had dropped this letter accidentally, and now she was trying to find it again.

No wonder she looked unnerved. The mission was supposed to be classified, which wasn't allowed to be known by the others, and she had dropped the letter.

If Gabriel wanted, he could've given the letter to Aira, but he chose against it. She wanted to investigate him. Why should he help her? If he didn't give her the letter, it could only delay her mission which was quite good.

Moreover, even if he gave her the letter, he didn't trust these mages enough. What was stopping her from accusing him in return for stealing it? She could also get him in trouble for the possibility of him reading a classified letter which he wasn't allowed to.

He kept the letter in his pocket and started leaving, walking right past the girl.

He left the Mission Hall while Aira kept looking for the letter, seemingly really concerned.

"Are you looking for something, Senior?"

As Aira was still looking for it, a young man walked up to him.

"It's none of your concern," Aira scoffed.

The young man was taken aback. But he still didn't give up. If he could help the woman, he knew he could get close to a Senior and get some benefits. Moreover, Aira was very beautiful to him. He really wanted to be her knight in shining Armor as she seemed like she was in trouble.

"Are you looking for a letter?" The young man asked.

Aira stopped. She straightened up and glared at the young man. "Where is that letter?"

She didn't even ask how he knew it. The only thing that mattered was that he knew what she was looking for, which meant he knew that a letter was lost here! That could only mean he also knew where it was!

"Do you have it?"

"I don't, but I know who does. Not long ago, I saw a First Year Mage of Light pick up a paper that looked like a mission letter. He went through the letter, but as soon as you entered, he hid the letter in his pocket."

" I watched it with my own eyes, that's why I took a guess that the letter was related to you. Why else would he hide it?" The man explained with a fawning smile. "I just thought I should help Senior!"

"Where is that Man?!" Aira asked quite impatiently.

"He just left. He should still be outside. I'll show you!" The man ran out of the Mission Hall as well, followed by Aira.

Aira was really angry. The man stole her letter even after knowing what it was! She was really going to teach that man a lesson no matter who it was!

Aira stepped out of the Mission Hall, noticing the young man pointing his finger in the distance. "There, he is the one. The guy who is walking like he has no care in the world!"

"Are you sure it's him?"

"I am a hundred percent sure!" the young man declared.

"So he's the thief! I'll teach him a lesson that he will never forget!"

Aira ran after Gabriel.

"You there! Stop!"

Gabriel, who was walking at his normal pace, heard someone yelling from behind. He stopped and turned around, quite curious.

'This girl...' Seeing the girl coming after him, he felt like he had an idea why she was coming here.

Behind Aira, another man came. The two people stopped before Gabriel.

Hearing the minor commotion, a few more students in the surrounding area also stopped, wondering what it was about. It looked like a first-year student was in some conflict with a Fourth Year student.

"Return the letter, you thief!" Aira raised her hand nicely.

"What letter?" Gabriel tilted his head in innocence. "Am I supposed to have a letter or something?"

"Stop acting! I saw you with my own eyes, stealing her Mission Letter! Do you know what crime it is to steal at the Academy, especially stealing a Mission Letter of a Fourth Year student?

"Once again, I have no idea what you're talking about. I think you got the wrong guy." Gabriel didn't get nervous. These people shouldn't do anything just based on accusations.

"Really? Then what is it?!" The young man inserted his hand into Gabriel's pocket without his permission. It was the same pocket where he saw him keep the letter.

"Huh?" Unfortunately, as soon as he searched the pockets, he didn't find anything. There was nothing in that pocket! Hastily, he searched the other pocket as well, but there was nothing there as well."

"Is this a robbery attempt?" Gabriel asked, seemingly confused. "I'm a new student, and I'm quite poor. So even if you want to rob me, you won't find anything."

"Hey, is a Fourth Year student trying to rob a newcomer?"

Hearing Gabriel's response, a wrong message was sent amongst the people who were watching everything. They all felt like Aira and the boy was trying to rob the young boy.

"Man, that's quite embarrassing. Stealing from the first year? Hahaha, at least they should've selected a rich person to rob!"

"They seem to be idiots."

A conversation started amongst the spectators. Despite that, none of them dared to enter the conflict to stop anyone. None of them was a Fourth Year student here, after all, other than Aira. So they all stayed back, just enjoying and occasionally mocking Aira.

Even Aira could hear the conversation that had started. Her face started twitching in anger as she glared at the young man who gave her this information.

The young man was also getting nervous! Where did the letter go?! He saw it with his own eyes! But now, there was nothing in the pockets. He also patted Gabriel's clothes but couldn't sense anything!

"I swear on my life, Senior. I saw him keep that letter with my own eyes! Why would I tell you such a stupid lie?!" The man turned around, seemingly sweating by how. If the letter wasn't found, he was going to look like a liar.

Fortunately for him, Aira still believed him. She was sure he wasn't lying. His expressions weren't the expressions of someone who was lying.

Moreover, it was true. Why would he lie about this since this lie couldn't survive for long? Furthermore, the man knew she was looking for a letter, which meant he definitely saw it! That only meant that Gabriel was lying. She was trying to mock them with his act.

"If you two are done, can I leave?" Finished with the search, Gabriel started leaving.

The young man didn't know that Gabriel could use spatial storage. That's where he hid the letter. Let alone these people; even their fathers couldn't find that letter now. And without the letter, he was innocent.

"Take off your Gloves..." Aira commanded.

Hearing her command, Gabriel stopped again. Did she just ask him to take off his gloves?

"I know you have my letter," Aira coldly stated. "From the moment you left the Mission Hall to the moment I came out, you have had enough time to hide it. The letter isn't in your pocket, nor is it in your clothes, but those gloves..."

Everything was checked, except Gabriel's gloves which were a perfect place where a letter could be hidden after folding.

Moreover, seeing Gabriel hesitate for a moment when his gloves were mentioned, she misunderstood it as his fear of being caught. She thought that was where he had the letter for sure!

Gabriel also frowned. There was no way in hell he was going to take off those gloves. If he did, his Ring of Necromancy was going to be visible along with the Ring of Apophis. That wasn't even the worst part. The worst part was that his Mark of Necromancy was also going to be visible.

"I'm afraid I've wasted enough of my time on you two clowns. I didn't come here to be stripped naked just because you want. You are neither father nor my mother." He was fine with everything else, but when it came to his gloves, the water was getting over his head.

"Who do you think you even are to command me? I didn't even take off my gloves when your Head Teacher of Earth asked me. You think I will listen to you?"

He stopped playing with their rules.

He let them do as they pleased, even letting them check his pocket, but not when it came to gloves. That's where he drew the line and made it clear to everyone.

It wasn't as if Battle Arena. He didn't feel any need to listen to them. So what if Aira was a Fourth Year student?

Even Fourth Year students weren't allowed to use their magic to attack their juniors, especially not in the academy. If one wanted to fight, they could only do so by entering the Battle Arena and placing their Credits on the line.

Gabriel knew that even Aira couldn't do more than just glare at him.

"If you lost some letters, I would suggest you be more careful next time," he further stated. "And if you didn't lose anything and just wanted to use this as an excuse to rob me, then you should select a richer target next time."

Giving some advice, he turned around and started leaving.

"This kid... He..." Almost every single mage who saw Gabriel's actions was stunned. The kid really didn't know the distance between earth and heaven. Even before a fourth-year student, he talked as if he was talking to a Junior.

They believed that just because using magic wasn't allowed on campus, Gabriel was really leaving no stone unturned, believing he wasn't going to be in trouble.

"I must say, the kid definitely is brave." A third-year student smiled, watching the scene. "Even I would've minced my words before a fourth-year mage, but he..."

"Heh, he is an idiot. He doesn't know that it's always a bad idea to mess with Seniors. Then again, he is new, so I don't blame him." Another man laughed.

Aira watched Gabriel leaving after issuing her a suggestion. As if she had been less angry before, Gabriel's actions angered her even more. Moreover, his hesitation in taking off the gloves also made her feel that she was right! Gabriel was hiding the letter in his gloves.

Gabriel had only managed to walk a few meters when he stopped, noticing a formation circle appearing on the ground before him. On top of the Formation Circle, a massive Snow White Wolf appeared, accompanied by a freezing aura.

The Snow Wolf had a peculiar mark on his forehead which signified the name of the Summoner who had established a contract with him. It was a really unique language that only Summoners and scholars could understand.

Seeing the Snow Wolf, who was even taller than him, Gabriel understood who summoned this guy. He turned around, glancing at Aira.

He was sure she couldn't use this wolf to attack him. She was only trying to intimidate him. Even Fourth Year Students weren't allowed to attack anyone with magic inside the academy. At least, that's what he was informed by Riya.

Seeing things escalate, the scene caught the attention of even more people. Everyone who was coming out of the Missions Hall came in this direction, wondering what this whole commotion was about. Amongst the newcomers, quite a lot of them were Fourth Year Students. Unfortunately, none of them were Fourth Year Mage of Light.

"Return my Mission Letter, and I'll let you leave! Don't anger me more!" Aira warned Gabriel again.

Too bad for her, threats didn't work on Gabriel. And even if they did, he wasn't going to come out to accept that she was right and that he had the letter.

Moreover, why was she even going that far? She could've taken another Mission Letter without anyone knowing. Instead, she was making it a spectacle, informing everyone that she had lost her letter.

"Are you really going to break the rules of the Academy to attack another student using magic?" Gabriel asked.

"Breaking the rules? Huh, it looks like no one informed you, kid!" Yoan, who had informed Aira about Gabriel possessing the letter, burst into hearty laughter. "No wonder you were acting so brave! You really thought she couldn't do anything?!"

Seeing the reaction, a frown appeared on Gabriel's face. He observed the others, and all of them had similar expressions, as if they were taking pity on his lack of knowledge. Was there really something important that Riya refused to inform him about the conditions under which magic could be used to attack a mage inside the academy?

After a burst of hearty laughter, the Yoan stopped and explained as if taking pity on Gabriel.

"You were right. Magic can't be used to attack another person inside the Academy unless it's the Battle Arena, but there's an exception to that rule! If someone is caught committing a crime on Academy Grounds, the Senior Students have the authority to punish that person!"

"I am a witness that you committed a Crime! And Senior Aira can punish you for that now. As long as we retrieve that letter later on and prove that you had actually committed a Crime, we won't be punished. Instead, you'll be expelled for committing the crime!" he further stated with a mocking gaze. "Still feeling as confident as before?"

The young man had the ugliest smirk that Gabriel had ever seen, but then again, he was right. There was definitely a rule like that that Gabriel wasn't informed about.

If he knew, he would've been more careful regarding that letter. He knew that there was a possibility that he had committed a mistake by taking that letter, but now that it had happened, he wasn't going to be scared of what was coming.

"And if after attacking me, it turns out that I don't have the letter? If it turns out that I'm innocent, can I get you two expelled?" Gabriel asked in return. "You know it would be a real pity if a third and a Fourth Year Mage were to be expelled after coming this close to graduation."

Yoan's laughter stopped abruptly as he gulped down. Even Aira considered that possibility, no matter how distant it was.

They weren't just going against a First Year student; they were also going against a Mage of Light! If it turned out that she attacked an innocent, this could become very complicated since the House of Light was going to get involved.

Still, she couldn't step back! She was sure Gabriel was trying to scare her! He wanted her to be scared and leave, possibly because he didn't want him to get caught. He was bluffing! Why else would he not take off his gloves? There could only be one explanation for her! He was hiding the letter there!

She didn't fall for Gabriel's words. If he wasn't going to return the letter like a good boy, she was going to force him to return the letter!

Despite being almost sure that Gabriel had the letter, Aira still looked in the direction of the young man who was the witness as if asking him if he was actually sure.

"He is trying to scare us! He is bluffing!" Yoan responded, clenching his fist. "This idiot thinks we'll fall for it!"

Even though the young man was slightly scared of the consequences that Gabriel laid out before them, he knew that it was a scaring tactic. He was sure that Gabriel had the letter! He watched it with his own eyes!

Aira nodded. "Before I go on my mission, it's only fair I teach an arrogant youngster a lesson."

She raised her left hand gracefully as if gesturing to her Snow Wolf. "Pin him down! Make sure to go easy on him."

She needed to take off Gabriel's gloves. If he wasn't going to take them off himself, she decided to help herself. As long as her wolf could pin him down, she could take off his gloves without having to seriously hurt him.

As soon as the Wolf received the command, it dashed to Gabriel.

Seeing the wolf run toward him, Gabriel also reacted. If they could use magic to attack him, then he could also use magic to protect himself.

"Strengthening," Gabriel muttered under his breath, casting a spell.

Even though he was only using a low-tier spell of light, the spell was even stronger now that he was a mid-tier mage. The Spell of Light filled Gabriel's body with strength.

Aira was a mid-tier mage, being a Fourth Year student, but it was the same for Gabriel after last night. He was also in the same realm at Aira, despite being in the First Year.

Moreover, the strengthening spell wasn't that rare. It was one of the most basic spells that almost every mage of light knew, at times even novice mages.

"Body of Light." He cast another spell as well, increasing his body's speed and agility. The spell also made his body a lot lighter since that was what he needed at the moment. He didn't want to show off his mid-tier strength for now, yet he didn't want to be beaten.

He found a perfect compromise! He was going to use the spells that even Beginner Mages could use to fight.

The Snow Wolf leaped at Gabriel, but it didn't call out its sharp claws to attack. It just needed to pin Gabriel down. The Snow Wolf could also feel that Aira didn't want Gabriel to be hurt either.

The Snow Wolf jumped in his direction, but at the same time, Gabriel also jumped, using his strength and his light body. Thanks to the combination, he had managed to achieve even greater height than the Snow Wolf.

"What?"

The spectators watched Gabriel jump even higher than the Snow Wolf. It wasn't half bad for a Mage of a Light, but when that mage was a first-year student, it was quite a good display of skills.

Gabriel landed behind the Snow Wolf, which was also taken aback.

The Snow Wolf landed on the ground, but before it could turn around, Gabriel grabbed its tail, pulling him back instead.

Gabriel swung the snow wolf like a hammer, using his tail. Being in the air, the Snow Wolf couldn't even stop Gabriel.

Gabriel only released the Snow Wolf only after gaining enough momentum, and that too in a very specific direction.

The Snow Wolf flew toward Yoan like a wrecking ball.

Yoan couldn't even react in what little time window he had. He couldn't even move, let alone use a spell in such a short time. He brought his hands together, protecting him from the heavy Wolf's body as much as he could.

The heavy wolf clashed with Yoan. The Snow Wolf was supposed to pin Gabriel to the ground, but he pinned the young man instead.

As if enraged at being treated this way, the Snow Wolf got back on his feet, freeing Yoan from under its weight.

Yoan stood up as well, holding his chest. The wolf was so heavy that his chest was still hurting.

The Snow Wolf was engaged and didn't want to go easy! He wanted to teach Gabriel a lesson! This time, Aira also didn't ask it to go easy.

She was also angry. She was going easy on the kid so far, and he decided to show off instead? If he wanted to show off, then so be it! He wanted a fight; she was going to give him a fight!

She stood with her hands behind her back, coldly looking at Gabriel. Now it had come to her self respect. It was going to look really bad if she didn't even get a newbie to fall on his knees before her.

The Snow Wolf roared, attracting even more attention to him. The roar was so loud that even more people started arriving here to check what was happening. Amongst the people that came, there were quite a few that Gabriel would've recognized as well.

On one side, there was Maya. She had just arrived and was asking others about what was happening here.

In the crowd, there was also Yann, who was laughing. "This idiot, he never learns. I thought he was arrogant when he went against me, but no. He wasn't arrogant. He was just an idiot! Only an idiot can go against a Fourth Year Mage.

In the distance, Caen could also see a crowd and hear some roaring noise coming. He was recently freed from his room as well, and he came out for a walk after being informed that there were no classes.

The commotion attracted his attention instantly, making him run to the crowd, wondering what was happening.

Another person arrived there, being the same man who was saved by Gabriel from Yann's bullying. Seeing Gabriel in conflict with a Fourth Year Mage, Zale was taken aback. He looked around, wondering why no one was stopping this!

"It's him..." Alexai also recognized Gabriel. He could only shake his head, wondering why this guy was always involved in every conflict.

He met Gabriel outside the city when they were waiting in line to enter the city. Even in the city, he saw Gabriel getting in conflict with Yann, and now here.

"Still, it's quite bizarre that no one is going to help him. A First Year Mage is being bullied inside the Academy, and everyone is just watching?"

The Snow Wolf opened his mouth wide, firing a freezing beam at Gabriel.

Seeing the attack, Alexai couldn't control himself! This was too much!

Gabriel was also prepared. He could easily avoid the attack, but before he could even do anything, he saw a thick wall coming out of the ground, protecting him.

The Beam of blue light hit the stone wall, instantly turning the wall into a thick block of ice. The beam was capable of turning whatever it touched into ice, freezing them. It wasn't a weak attack.

"Who dares interfere?" Yoan roared, seeing a wall appear, which blocked the attack. The wall couldn't be conjured by Gabriel as this seemed to be the work of a Mage of Earth!

Alexai stepped out of the crowd. "I think it's enough. Things are going too far at this point."

"Senior Aira is teaching a criminal a lesson! It's not too far! Instead, it was him who hurt her wolf first! Moreover, it's a matter between these two! You had no right to interfere! Also, you used Magic on academy grounds, even though you had no reason being a First Year Mage! It seems you've broken a rule as well."

"So?" Alexai frowned. "Seniors are supposed to protect Juniors, not bully them. You should look at what you were doing."

Even though Alexai didn't make friends or tried to get close to anyone, he also couldn't stay back and watch someone being bullied like that.

"You used magic, so you broke the laws. As your Senior, I should punish you as well!" Yoan spoke.

He was a Senior to Alexai in the Academy, so he could also interfere here, now that Alexai used magic which he wasn't allowed to! He could teach him a lesson!

"Lady Aira, you focus on the Kid. I'll handle this interruption!" He told Aira. He wanted to teach another arrogant kid a lesson who dared call them bullies.

Just like Alexai, he was also a Mage of Earth, but he was a Third Year Mage of Earth which made him Alexai's senior!

He was quite eager to teach this new mage of Earth what actual strength looked like, while Aira taught Gabriel a lesson.

He raised his hand. "Earthly Pri-"

Boom~

Yoan was about to cast a spell, but before he could finish, a sphere of light came out of nowhere, hitting him. The sphere was like a heavy punch that hit him straight in the gut, sending him flying back.

The spell of light wasn't used by Gabriel either! Everyone looked in the crowd, wondering who had used the spell. Quite a few looked at Cain, who stood in the direction where the attack came from!

Everyone looked in the direction the attack came from, wondering who would have dared to attack a Third Year Mage! Whoever did it, they not only attacked Yoan but also entered deep into conflict with Aira!

Aira wasn't an ordinary person! She wasn't just a Fourth Year Mage. She was the heir of one of the Major Clans of the Lumen City, among the top families like the Raini Family. Her full name was Aira Zoan. She was a part of the eldest daughter of the Head of the Zoan Family.

While Raini Family controlled most of the businesses in the city and more, the Zoan Family was more of an Artificer Family, which was known to make the best man-made Artefacts, also known as Numen Clones.

Whoever interfered at the moment was not only going against Yoan, but they were also entering into conflict with Aira and the Zoan Clan.

Not long after the sphere came, a spell circle appeared under the Snow Wolf. Hundreds of shackles made purely from Light came out of Spell Circle, entrapping the Snow Wolf in them. The shackles caught the Snow Wolves legs, his neck, and basically his entire body.

The chains pulled the Show Wolf to the ground, bringing it down to its knees.

"Who dares!" Aira roared, but before she could do anything, a similar formation circle also appeared around her.

Not only Aira, but everyone else's face went pale as well! Whoever it was, they were directly attacking Aira now?

The chains came out from the other spell circle as well, wrapping around Aira's hands and pulling her down firmly. Aira was a Summoner, and her strength was based on her Summons. She physically wasn't that strong. Just a slight pull of the chains and Aira was on her knees as well, feeling enraged.

Whoever attacked her they were trying to embarrass her! The Snow Wolf opened its mouth, but another chain came out, closing the mouth of the Snow Wolf to make sure the Snow Wolf couldn't attack anyone.

Not only Aira and the others but even Gabriel was taken aback at the sudden change of events. Who was helping him?

Alexai also looked around, trying to locate who it was. Amongst the crowd, there were quite a few mages of light, but none of them looked like they had attacked.

Only one person was looking slightly amused at the change of events. That person was Cain. Quite a few wondered if Cain was the one who attacked.

Unfortunately, their misconception soon disappeared as Aira looked up into the distance. "Garrick! What do you think you are doing?!"

Hearing her roar, the others also looked up, finally realizing who it was. In the sky, there was a person who was floating mid air. There were two beautiful golden wings made purely of energy behind him. The man coldly looked down at Aira.

His body floated ahead, and he landed before Aira.

"Shouldn't I be asking that question? What do you think you were doing, attacking a young mage from our house?" Garrick asked coldly.

Even though he was mostly a calm person, he was quite arrogant and protective when it came to the House of Light. He was one of the strongest students in the House of Light.

He was like the representative student from the House of Light, who considered it his duty to maintain the dignity of the House of Light! Watching a Fourth Year Mage from another House attack a First Year Mage of Light from his own class was infuriating.

Not only were they trying to attack Gabriel, who he had just freed, but they were also going to attack another young mage who just interfered to save Gabriel?

"You don't know what he did!" Aira yelled, trying to stand up, but the more she tried to stand up, the more these chains tightened.

"I don't care what he did." Garrick's voice became louder. "Whatever he did, what gave you the right to attack him with your Summoned Beast? Who do you think you are? If you're that interested in showing off your strength, then show it to me! Let me see just how much you have grown!"

He glared at the Snow Wolf, who was growling as if asking to be freed. "And that little puppy of yours... It seems you both forgot the dignity of the House of Light, didn't you?"

He raised his left hand toward the Snow Wolf. The Chains that were entrapping the Snow Wolf disappeared. The Snow Wolf was free!

As soon as the Snow Wolf was free, he jumped at Garrick.

Garrick simply scoffed. "Let me train this little puppy of yours first. Then I'll deal with you."

There were only a few people here who could treat Aira this way, and one of them was Garrick. Garrick was the heir of the Raini Family, which was the top family after the Royal Lumen Family in the City. Not only was he more influential than Aira, but he was also way stronger than her.

Garrick was the champion of the last year's Tournament of Houses. He was the strongest student in the entire academy! Amongst the current Generations of students, only Garrick had managed to enter the top hundred ranks in the Tower of Challenges!

He was ranked 97, while Aira was ranked 357 in the tower of Challenges! Garrick was also one of the few mages who had managed to enter the Advanced Stages of Spiritual Magic Strength, despite only being in his Fourth Year. He was the top prodigy of the Academy. If there was one student who could act like this in the academy, it was Garrick!

The wolf attacked Garrick, losing itself to its wild urges. Since Aira was also angry, she didn't stop him either, letting him attack.

Boom~

The Snow Wolf couldn't even get close to Garrick when an energy blast of light appeared before it. The energy blast was made with such precision that the two explosive energy of that attack only went in one direction... Instead of spreading evenly in all directions. That kept all the others safe from this attack but the Snow Wolf...?

The Energy Attack directly hit the snow wolf, sending it flying back. The Snow Wolf even started bleeding for the first time following the attack. The white fur of the Snow Wolf began to turn red.

"You bastard! You are going against me for... For that thief?"

"I'm not going against anyone," Garrick responded calmly. "I'm just showing some people their places because it looks like they forgot their places. It seems they started considering themselves teachers instead."

It was clear who he was talking about when he talked about such, even though he didn't look at Aira.

The Snow Wolf opened its mouth. Despite bleeding and being hurt, the Snow Wolf didn't lose its fighting intent. If anything, his fighting intent only intensified. The wolf opened its mouth, attacking with the freezing beam of blue light again, this time but going closer to Garrick personally.

Garrick rolled her eyes. He called forth his Staff. "Protection of the Divine!"

A beautiful golden barrier appeared before the attack, blocking it. However, it didn't look like Garrick used the barrier to protect himself. He used the barrier to protect others since he wasn't in the place anymore. If the attack had missed him, it would've hit the people in the back. So before moving, he cast the barrier.

"Strength!"

"Speed!"

He also cast the same spells that Gabriel had casted to fight, but he used stronger versions of those spells. His figure flickered as he appeared right beside the Snow Wolf.

Garrick grabbed the Snow Wolf by the neck, smashing its head on the ground. He didn't release the Wolf, either. He kept hitting the Wolf's head on the concrete floor again and again. Before his strength, the Wolf couldn't even resist. With each hit, the Snow Wolf bled even more.

Seeing the ruthless side of Garrick, quite a lot of people were taken aback. That guy really was ruthless when he fought. When he wasn't fighting, he was always warm and cordial like a model student, but when he was angry or in a war, he was no less than a demon who was completely ruthless.

Quite a lot of people had seen Garrick fight before, and that was no different than what was happening now. There was a reason he was a top Student at the moment, after all.

Amongst the crowd, Maya was also looking at Garrick's actions. She was slightly scared but also in awe as to how strong he was. She wanted to be as strong as him one day.

On the other end, Yann was quite disappointed. Everything was getting so fun here. Gabriel was about to be thrashed, but his brother just had to come and intervene.

"Couldn't he come half an hour later?" he muttered under his breath.

Alexai simply stood with his arms folded, noticing Garrick thrash the wolf. It reminded him a lot about his own part. He touched his chest, feeling a scar that he had for a long time. Unlike many people here, he didn't find this thrashing ruthless. When one fought, they couldn't go easy.

They had to give it their all because their enemy wasn't going to go easy on them. It was a mindset that he believed every mage needed to possess. No matter what battle it was, they needed to fight like it could be their last battle because at times, it could very well be.

In the end, Aira couldn't take it anymore. Her Snow Wolf couldn't defeat Garrick, and it was the same for her other Summons if she called them. She didn't want her Snow Wolf to be hurt more. She sent her Snow Wolf back, canceling her summon.

Garrick was about to hit the Snow Wolf's head on the concrete floor again when the Snow Wolf disappeared. Still, he didn't stop his hand. He simply clenched his fist, punching the ground before finally stopping.

Blood marks were left on the floor belonging to the Snow Wolf.

Garrick opened his fist, casting another spell. "Purify."

He cleaned the ground through his spell, cleaning all the blood marks.

He walked back to Aira, sitting on his knees before her as well. "Tell me, what did we learn here today?"

Aira glared at Garrick. "I won't forget this."

"That's your choice, and you're allowed to do as you please with that. However, what you aren't allowed to do is bully a mage from my House. If you did it again, this was just a sample..."

"You don't even know why I attacked him!"

"It doesn't matter why you did it. If you had a problem, you could've gone to a teacher instead of taking things into your own hands."

"He stole my Mission Letter!" Aira roared. "Of course, I would want it back!"

"He stole your Mission Letter from your hands?" Garrick sarcastically asked. "Isn't that embarrassing."

"I dropped it accidentally, and he took it!"

"So he picked it up from the ground?" Garrick tilted his head to the side. "That's not stealing in my books then if he picked up what he found. Moreover, why would anyone steal a Mission Letter? Not like they can finish it and get the rewards, can they?"

"Not even going into the veracity of your accusations, but even if what you said was true, that only shows your negligence. Despite being so old, how could you be so careless to lose a confidential mission letter?" he further asked. "And when you do, you attack others?"

"I asked him to return nicely many times! He didn't return! What could I do?!" Aira retorted. "Moreover, even if what he did doesn't count as stealing, he still took a confidential letter instead of returning it to the Mission Hall!"

"That's not allowed! So he broke the laws!" She continued. "And I have every right as a Senior to punish him! Meanwhile you... You had no right to attack me!"

"I think it would be great if you didn't teach me the rules," Garrick rolled his eyes. When it came to rules, he had memorized all of them.

"Firstly, as the Representative of Students from the House of Light, I have every right to use my magic and attack if I see someone from my house being attacked. Maybe ask your elder brothers. As a representative of House of Lightning, he should know this rule."

"If the representative of the House of Summoning wants to attack me, they are allowed to as well. Even though the outcome might not be what they would expect."

Garrick informed Aira about the rules which allowed him to interfere in this conflict and teach her a lesson. He didn't stop there.

"Secondly, it's a student's duty to return items that they found, but if they don't, even that doesn't give you the authority to attack them. Since it's a minor offense that you can't prove, you can only approach a Teacher and inform them about it."

"You can't search the student... Only a teacher can! Maybe read up the rules that you love to brag so much about someday." Garrick further explained, making even Aira surprised. "That's why I said that you probably started considering yourself a teacher, making your own rules! I had to bring you down to earth."

He stood up calmly. "Also, you are quite lucky that there's not a single scratch on him. If there was, things wouldn't end so nicely for you."

Garrick was not only strong, but he was smart as well, which made even more people praise him in their minds. Moreover, he was also going so far just to protect a first-year student, which was amazing on its own.

"Fine! I will get a teacher to search him!" Aira declared.

Garrick shrugged. "You are free to do that. I won't stop you. But if you dare attack even one person from House of Light next time... Treat it as a warning!"

He canceled his spell, freeing her from the shackles of light.

Aira stood up, rubbing her wrists. If glared could kill, she would've killed Garrick a thousand times by now.

"What is happening here?" Another authoritative voice came as a young aged man walked through the crowd to see what the commotion was about.

"Lord Rem!" Aira's eyes lit up. If she needed a teacher, then who could be better than Rem, the Head Teacher of House of Earth!

It was Rem who had arrived. Seeing Rem arrive, Gabriel became even more serious. Ren already wanted him to take his gloves off last time, and now he could even have an excuse.

At any cost, he needed to ensure it didn't happen, even if he had to go to war for that!

Rem was going to meet Eliana when he noticed a massive crowd gathering in the distance. He also heard some loud noises coming, which made him want to check out.

"What is happening here?" He noticed Aira on her knees before Garrick. Aira stood up as soon as she saw Rem as she was already free of the shackles.

Rem also noticed Gabriel in the distance. Looking at the scene, it looked like a battle had just taken place here. Aira's expressions certainly told that story since she seemed really upset.

Gabriel and Alexai also appeared to be involved in whatever happened here.

Rem waited for anyone to explain to him about what happened. The first person to explain was Aira as she stepped forward. She wanted to take the lead and explain what happened here before Garrick could tell anyone with his biased point of view.

She told Rem all about her losing her Mission Letter. She also talked about Yoan, who informed her about Gabriel.

Yoan was the first one that Garrick had attacked. Even though the attack was intentionally light and not enough to hurt him, Yoan still stayed back as soon as he saw Garrick since he didn't want to involve himself in anything that could anger Garrick. He had to be an idiot to offend Garrick.

Despite that, now that he was in this mess, he agreed with Aira and swore on his life that he saw Gabriel pick up a letter from the ground and leave the Mission Hall.

Aira further talked about how she had stopped Gabriel and asked him to return the letter and that he not only refused but he was quite arrogant in his refusal.

"The letter wasn't in his clothes, that only left his gloves, so I asked him to let us check his gloves. In response, not only did he insult us, but he also insulted you!" Aira exclaimed. "He said he didn't even let you take off his gloves, let alone us. He was so arrogant and uncooperative that I had to interfere."

Hearing Aira talk about the words that Gabriel used for him, Rem was quite surprised. Then again, Gabriel wasn't lying. Even when he had asked him, Gabriel had refused last time.

Aira had expected Rem to get angry at Gabriel after hearing what he said, but Rem was relatively calm, as if he wasn't surprised. It made her wonder if Gabriel had spoken the truth. Did he really refuse Rem?

Unlike her, there were a few people who knew about it, Cain being one of them. They are the ones who were present there when it happened.

She further continued after getting no response. "Since he wasn't listening to me, and I was sure that he broke the rules, I was forced to use magic. I summoned my Snow Wolf, but only to stop him. However, instead of stopping, he attacked my Snow Wolf! And before I could react, Garrick arrived and attacked us!"

Finally, in the end, she mentioned the event with Garrick about how he attacked them.

Throughout her explanation, Garrick just stood, with his arms folded, as if he wasn't scared at what she was going to say. In his actions, he believed he was justified, and no one could deny that.

"Garrick, what do you say about that?" Rem asked Garrick after hearing Aira's side of the story. He wanted to listen to both sides.

Garrick nodded and started explaining.

"I was going to the Library of Spells when a young man came to me, telling me that a First Year Mage of Light was being attacked by a Fourth Year Mage of Summoning."

"I came here and noticed that it was more than that. It wasn't just one person being attacked. She was attacking Gabriel, a first-year Mage who isn't even close to her level, with her Snow Wolf. Not only her, but the guy beside her was also about to attack that young mage of Earth simply for trying to stop this fight."

"No matter what the reasons behind Aira's actions, what these two were doing was more of a bullying than anything else, and as a Student Representative of House of Light, it's my duty to protect our mages from such things. And that's what I did."

Unlike Aira, Garrick was more brief and precise in his explanation, finishing much faster. Instead of giving a detailed description of everything that happened, he only gave Rem a summary.

Rem closed his eyes momentarily and nodded. Both of them seemed to have a justification of their own, yet both had taken things to the extreme. Garrick was right.

It was wrong and very excessive for Aira to attack Gabriel. She didn't really need to attack him to stop him. If she wanted to, she could've taken other steps. He came to a decision after hearing both sides.

He first glanced at Aira. "Garrick was right. You shouldn't have gone this far. You could've approached a teacher for this instead of taking matters into your own hands. If it was about you fighting a Fourth Year mage or even a third-year mage instead of a first-year, I could've understood, but not in this case. You used way excessive force.'

"As a Head Council Member, I will be taking away half your credits that you have gathered. Moreover, the mission that you have selected from the Mission Hall, I'm taking back that as well. It will be available for another student now. And lastly, you are barred from entering the Tower of Challenges for the next month."

Gabriel expected Rem to side with Aira to ask him to take off his Gloves, but Rem appeared quite neutral for now. Gabriel didn't know if these punishments were severe, but looking at the expressions of the other students nearby, it did look like a significant punishment since they looked quite shocked.

"And Garrick." After giving a punishment to Aira, Rem turned to Garrick.

The young mages wondered if Rem was going to punish him too.

"You just did what you were supposed to do. You did follow the rules even though you went a bit overboard. Moreover, you only fought a Fourth Year Mage. That's why I will overlook this. However, if something like this happens again, try to de-escalate the situation."

Unlike Aira, Garrick avoided any punishments, which made Aira's heart burn in rage. If it weren't the Head Teacher of Earth, she would've probably considered Rem to be biassed.

"What about him? What should the Mission Letter which he hid that he wasn't supposed to?" she asked, pointing at Gabriel.

"I'm coming to that as well," Rem responded before turning to Gabriel. The two men were face to face once again in such a short time.

Rem finally turned to Gabriel. "And you..."

p He scratched the back of his head. That was his reaction whenever he had to deal with him. Gabriel was like the star disciple of Eliana. She really placed importance on him, especially because of the immense talent he possessed. No one other than him, Lishen, and Eliana knew just what Gabriel was truly capable of based on his talents.

"Did you take the letter?" Rem asked.

"I didn't," Gabriel responded without a single shred of fear on his face. "However, it won't be the first time I'm accused falsely in the Academy. This one makes it twice in two days."

Just yesterday, he was accused of killing Hawrin. He actually did that, but for the world, he was innocent, and until he was innocent for the world, all these accusations were going to be false. And it was the same with this.

"Hah." Rem understood what Gabriel was implying. "I understand what you are saying, but why would someone accuse you falsely? They claim to have seen you take the letter, don't they?"

"Why would someone accuse me falsely?" Gabriel smirked. He knew that if he needed to get out of this situation without fighting, he needed to guilt trap the others, and what better way than to use their previous accusations on him.

"Why don't you ask him why someone would falsely accuse anyone?" he pointed in the distance, making everyone look in the direction he was pointing.

Yann was taken aback to see everyone looking at him suddenly. He just scoffed in response.

"Because of his false accusations, Cain and I were almost on the verge of being forced to lose our talents in the test of the crown. And now, based on other accusations, you all want to do what you please again? I'm sorry, but I won't let it happen." Gabriel shook his head as if he was quite tired of all of it.

"The scenario here is different. You won't lose your talent if you just take off your gloves and let them see you're innocent. Isn't that true?"

"If that's the case, I accuse you of stealing the letter." Gabriel was not in the mood to give up. "I saw you take the letter. If you're not guilty, take off all your clothes, let us see. You won't lose anything. And if you're innocent, you can let them see, isn't that true?'

Hearing the sarcastic response, Rem's face twitched. This kid... He was really playing with him.

"I've had enough of these accusations and proving my innocence. If I have to prove my innocence every day, then I don't feel safe at this academy. Today it's my gloves. Tomorrow you'll ask me to strip to prove my innocence, the day after that you'll ask me to stab myself to prove my innocence. If that's how my life is going to be at the Academy, then I am fine not being a student."

"I am leaving this academy right away. It's better I apply to the Church of Light instead. At least they won't accuse me daily."

Being banished from the Academy or leaving it on his own, both were the same, and both were beneficial to him. He could actually leave the academy right now and not regret a single thing. He already had all the artifacts he needed, and this gave him an excuse to leave the place without raising many suspicions.

Still, if possible, he wanted to stay here for a few more days since he wanted to enter the Tower of Challenges. But if he couldn't, he didn't mind that either. This was supposed to be a threat to Rem, and he wasn't joking.

The only reason the Academy kept his talent and his age a secret was because they didn't want the Church of Light to have him. They wanted to be known as the Academy that trained the next Holy Mage. He knew that the Academy wasn't going to lose him.

He was their treasure in a way. Even if they needed to act neutral before others, there was definitely some bias toward him, and he wanted to use that bias to his advantage.

Rem wanted Gabriel to take off his gloves and prove his innocence since that was the easiest way out. He also wanted to see him take off those gloves himself, but he couldn't force it. If Gabriel actually left the academy and decided to go to the Church of Light, he believed Eliana was going to be really upset at him for not handling things properly.

Eliana was already quite stressed regarding the theft, and more stress wasn't good for her at this time since he didn't want to see Eliana when she was angry. Even if Gabriel actually took the letter, it was a very minor thing. He could've let Gabriel leave over that.

He was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He had just punished Aira. If he didn't even search Gabriel to see if Aira was telling the truth, he was going to come across as quite biased. Unfortunately, he had no choice in this matter.

Gabriel was right. He was just accused yesterday when the killer was a dark mage. In such a short time, another accusation could definitely make anyone angry.

He gave Gabriel a benefit of the doubt. Moreover, if he checked and it turned out that Gabriel was innocent, then Eliana was going to blame him in case Gabriel left the academy after his search.

In the end, he decided to pick the less bad of the two options.

"I can understand your anger. You are right that you were accused wrongly yesterday, and we all doubted you for nothing. This time, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt since you already let them check your clothes. Anything more than that would be going overboard. You can leave. No one will search you.'

Rem gave in. Gabriel's plan to get out of this situation worked. Gabriel had the permission to learn, and he didn't waste a single second more.

"What? Aira was left stunned at what happened! He didn't even search Gabriel? What kind of bias was that? She was punished so bad over a minor thing, and he wasn't even searched? He was left scot-free. Even Garrick wasn't punished! Why was only her receiving all the punishment? If she thought Rem was biased before, she was sure now!

She decided to talk to Xinci about this bias, who was the Head Teacher of her House of Summon.

Gabriel didn't waste a single second and swiftly left the place, but he didn't walk in any hurry either. He walked at his usual pace as if he was taking a walk, leaving a stunned crowd behind.

Gabriel utilized the biggest advantage he possessed after his battle strength. In fact, it was less of his strength and more of the weakness of others.

Greed was something that almost every person possessed. Some had greed for achievements; some had greed for prestige; some had greed for strength and more.

Almost every person in the world had some kind of Greed, and for the Academy, their greed was their prestige. That's why it was such a big blow to the academy that they were robbed. They still hoped to gain some things by training Gabriel in hopes that he could become the next Holy Mage.

It was that greed that was holding Eliana back. It was the reason she wasn't willing to let him go through the test of the crown. He had already noticed this hesitation in Eliana's face when he was standing before her. This was also what made them keep Gabriel's identity and his talent levels a secret.

If their greed was their weakness, then the best way to use that Greed was simply through a subtle threat that he could leave them for the Church of Light. It became even worse for them when he had a legit excuse as they had actually accused him before, only to free him later.

As soon as Gabriel saw Rem, he had already made up this plan in his head as to how he was going to get out of this situation. If it were another teacher who didn't know, then it would've been much harder for him, but with Rem, Gabriel was quite pleased since the only person who could be better for him in this situation was Eliana.

However, with Eliana, everyone would've considered her even more biased since Garrick and Gabriel were both her students.

Gabriel glanced back once, noticing Rem telling the young mages to get back to what they were doing and not create a crowd here.

Looking back, he also noticed a young man running toward him. He remembered that man quite well.

Gabriel didn't stop since he didn't need to. He was already walking at his usual place, which made it relatively easy for the others to catch up to him.

Zale caught up to Gabriel, finally slowing down. "Are you alright?"

"I am." Gabriel nodded. He had saved the young man once in the past, but that was it. That was the extent to which he knew Zale. Zale was also the one who gave him the information about Cain, telling him about his past.

Unfortunately, that information didn't come in handy. He had planned to use Cain and Yann for a distraction that could give him some time, but things went a bit south with Hawrin's death. He had to modify his plans and go with an entirely different and direct route to steal the Numens.

"That's good. I am glad I wasn't late in bringing Senior Garrick." Zale placed his hand on his chest, letting out a sigh.

"Hmm?" Gabriel curiously glanced back at the young man. "You brought him?"

"Yeah. I saw you being attacked by the Seniors. I knew that only teachers could help you, and that's why I went looking for a teacher. Even though I didn't find a teacher, I did manage to find Senior Garrick. Since he was the strongest student from the House of Light, I told him everything and asked him to help you."

"Fortunately, we came right on time. I'm so glad you were safe."

Zale genuinely looked happy that he was able to help Gabriel, even though indirectly.

"So the person who informed him was you," Gabriel remembered Garrick telling Rem about being informed. So he was telling the truth, and the person that informed him was Zale.

No matter why it seemed Zale had helped him. If Garrick hadn't arrived, he would've needed to use a little more strength, which could reveal that he was also a mid-tier mage now.

"Why would you help me?"

"Did you look for a reason before helping me?" Zale asked in return. "When I needed help the most, you were the only one who came to my help. Cain arrived later as well."

"But you... You will always be the person who saved me. So why would I think twice before looking for ways to help you?"

Gabriel was momentarily at a loss of words. So that was the reason this guy tried to help him?

"We are equal now. You can leave."

Despite being helped by Zale, Gabriel didn't behave like a friend. He didn't thank Zale either. Instead, he simply told Zale to leave.

Even though Zale helped him, he didn't want to feel grateful to him. He didn't want to lose his resolve.

He didn't want to forget the lesson he had learned, even at the cost of his life. It was that people were willing to be your friend and help you, only as long as they didn't get an excuse to turn on you.

Alexai came to help him even though he didn't need it. It was the same for Zale and Garrick. Even the Academy tried to help him in any way they could, but this was all an illusion that was waiting to blow up.

The moment he lost the ring of Apophis after a few days, all the people who were acting like his friends could easily turn on him. And if his identity as a Necromancer came out, let alone these people, the entire academy was going to be after him to kill him!

It wasn't hard to imagine either. It was the same Academy that allowed thousands of its dark mages to be slaughtered... The dark mages who studied here for years and were at times really nice people like him. The academy didn't provide even a single one of them protection.

In the war, millions of Dark Mages were killed, and no one felt bad for them. Amongst the Millions, the majority of them were just the ones that wanted to live their life. He was sure that quite a lot of them were like him, who were betrayed by the people they trusted as soon as the war was declared.

It was a world where people didn't have sympathy for a dark Mage. Instead, they cheered for their deaths. Zale was also a part of that same world. He was also going to have the same mentality. If even Maya, who knew him all her life, could attack him, then what was Zale?

Gabriel didn't need any friends. Instead, he wanted to be all alone for now.

Immersed in conversation, he reached the Tower of Challenges and even entered that place, leaving Zale behind.

Zale stood outside the Tower of Sins, not knowing what to feel. He had helped Gabriel. Let alone thanking him, Gabriel was quite nonchalant as if his help wasn't needed. Despite that, Zale didn't feel bad.

"He must be stressed. He did go through a lot. I can't blame him. If I were accused of murder and theft right after, I would feel bad too."

Zale didn't take Gabriel's words to his heart. He simply turned around and started leaving after wishing great luck inside the Tower to Gabriel.

Not many first-year mages attended the Tower of Challenges, let alone a first-year mage who was only here for three days.

Gabriel entered the Tower of Challenges, quite curious about what was going to be inside. If he was here for a short time, he really wanted to see just what kind of challenges there were going to be.

If possible, he also wanted to test himself to see where he stood compared to other Mages that went through the tower.

He also believed that there was another advantage to entering the tower. If he could get even a decent score, he could get some credits which he could later use to get more powerful skills from the Library of Skills. He only had a few days left at the Academy, and he wanted to accumulate as much knowledge as he could while he was here.

If it were anyone else, they most probably would've left the academy now that they had managed to steal all the items, but Gabriel was different. He did come here to get the Ancestral Staff of Darkness, but that wasn't his main goal. It was only his secondary goal. His main goal was Hawrin.

With Hawrin's death, he could finally take some time for himself before deciding what he wanted to do here. He wasn't sure when he was going to get a similar opportunity in the future, so he wanted to use it to the fullest while he had a chance.

Inside the Tower of Challenges, quite a lot of youngsters were leaving as they had finished their run. Most of them seemed disappointed, as if they had failed to reach the floor that they were targeting. Meanwhile, there were also a few who were quite pleased as they had managed to reach higher than they did last time.

A few of them were even eager to see how much their names climbed up in the tower.

Before entering, Gabriel had expected that the challenges would start from the ground floor itself, but it looked like the ground floor was just a common floor, and the challenges began from the first floor.

"Heh, a first-year mage?"

Every mage that walked past Gabriel glanced at him with amusement. They all knew that the batch of first-year students had just arrived and that their battle classes hadn't even begun. To see a first year mage in this place was quite surprising but also funny since they imagined how badly he was going to be thrashed if he started climbing the Tower.

A young man stopped before Gabriel. "I don't think you should climb the tower. It's not safe. Even the first floor will be dangerous for you if you are new here. So better focus on your training.'

It was a second year mage of light who was giving some genuine advice to Gabriel as he believed that Gabriel was underestimating this place.

Gabriel glanced at the young man. "I'm just looking around."

The young mage of light nodded before leaving. If Gabriel was just looking around, then it was fine. And even if he was going to enter, it didn't matter. He had already informed Gabriel what he needed to.

In the entire hall, there was only one door that led upstairs. There was a barrier before that door that was semi transparent.

In the center of the massive hall, there was a formation circle. Young mages kept appearing on the formation circle, leaving the tower. It was like they were teleporting here from the higher floors, which was somewhat surprising and convenient.

The mages needed to climb up, but when they were done, they could just return here?

Even though most of the mages were leaving the Tower, there were also some who were arriving from outside to attempt the Tower.

All those mages went to the end of the hall where an old man was sitting behind a wooden table. They talked to the old man, who seemingly gave all of them a stone.

The mages took the stone and went to the stairs, passing through the barrier. It looked like that stone was some kind of key, and the old man was in-charge here.

If he needed to climb, he also needed to approach the old man. That's what he did.

He walked to the old man, avoiding all the mocking gazes from others. Even the old man was slightly surprised as he saw a first year mage coming to him.

"I want to climb the tower," Gabriel told the old man.

Hearing his request, the old man couldn't help but laugh.

Even as the old man laughed, he noticed that Gabriel was still looking at him thoughtfully. "Wait. You are serious?"

"Yes."

"Young man, you really underestimate this tower. It's not a place for kids to play around. I'm saying this for your own well-being. Please don't take it the wrong way. If I'm not wrong, your batch has been here for three or four days."

"Spend a few months learning and growing up. Then attempt this place. If not, you might get seriously hurt. You can't even reach the second floor like this."

"I understand the risks. I still want to climb." Gabriel was still firm on his stand. He didn't have months to wait.

"Kids these days... It seems you won't understand what I'm trying to say until you see it with your own eyes. Fine. Then so be it. I'll allow you to enter."

Generally, the old man only wanted Gabriel to not make this mistake, but if Gabriel still wanted to try, he agreed. It wasn't his first time seeing stubborn first year students, and he was sure it wasn't going to be his last.

Most of them rarely listened, and then when they were hurt, they understood the value of these words.

"What is your element?" The old man asked Gabriel.

"The Element of Light." Gabriel lowered his left glove a little to reveal his Mark of Light.

"A Mage of Light. I should've guessed." The old man shook his head lightly. "Your name?"

"Gabriel," Gabriel answered, but it was only after he told his name that he realized his mistake. His mind was filled with thoughts about what was going to be on the higher floors. In his distraction, he gave out his real name. He couldn't even correct that without creating more problems.

The old man didn't notice anything strange in the name. He picked a piece of stone that had a special formation carved on it that made these stone orbs work.

The old man held the stone in his hand and closed his fists. He muttered something inaudible, closing his eyes as well.

After a few seconds, he opened his hand and gave the stone piece to Gabriel. "There. This is your key to getting to the higher floors. This piece of stone has a formation which connects it to the tower."

"The higher this stone reaches, the higher your score will be registered. In other words, the stone will be the thing that will be recording the information about the floor you managed to reach."

"In case you manage to reach high enough, your name will appear on the Tower outside, though I doubt that will happen. The stone won't reach the second floor it seems. Still, I wish you luck, young man. Hope you come out safe."

"Oh, and one more thing. The stones also have another formation carved on them. If you feel like you're in danger, just tap this stone on the floor twice, and you'll be brought back here. That will be all."

Gabriel glanced at the stone, understanding how these things worked. This was slightly surprising. He had been wondering how the tower recorded the scores for quite some time. "Can others interfere in my challenges when I'm on higher Floors?"

"No one can even see you," the old man smiled. "The tower gives a separate realm for challenges for each person. In other words, we can't see what challenges you go through or how you face them, let alone someone interfering in your challenges. It will be like each participant will be in a different tower. That keeps the tower Challenges neutral and free from interference."

"That's also why we made this teleportation formation on the stone. Since we don't know what their situation will be like, it's to bring them back in case they are in danger. Despite that, there are still times when people die in the Tower. That's why stay safe if possible and don't force yourself."

"I see, so no one knows what a mage does in the Tower or how they fight. The only thing that they can know is which floor a person reached." Gabriel gazed at the piece of stone in his hand, slightly intrigued by this information.

Didn't this mean he could use his Element of Necromancy as well? If they were in a different realm from each other, no one could sense his aura.

Still, just to be safe, he could cast Undead Imitation to keep his aura restricted. He could fight freely using both his elements, and no one could see what he was doing. This was pretty perfect for him... This way, he could also get to higher floors.

The workings of this tower were quite beneficial for him as it gave him absolute freedom to do whatever he pleased.

Keeping the stone in his pocket, he also walked to the stairs to see just what he was capable of.

The old man shook his head, watching Gabriel leave. He expected Gabriel to be back in five minutes at most. Even he didn't know just how wrong he was… How wrong everyone was...

Gabriel passed through the barrier, beginning his journey in the Tower... A journey that was going to change everything…

The Tower of Challenges had been one constant thing ever since the start of the Academy. In fact, it was also the reason that the Academy was started in this place in the first place.

Contrary to popular belief, the Tower of Challenges wasn't created by the Academy of Elements. It wasn't created by any mage of the Academy either. The tower existed here for as long as anyone could remember. No one knew who exactly made this tower or why.

By the time magic and magicians were becoming prominent in the world, the founders of the Academy of Elements discovered the Tower of Challenges.

The Academy of Elements was said to be founded by two friends who were quite powerful mages of their time. Ironically, one of those two men was a Mage of Light while the other was a Mage of Darkness.

After entering the tower, the two mages managed to find out a lot about this place. They discovered that each floor of the tower held a different challenge and that challenges only became more fierce the higher they climbed. One more thing they noticed was that the entrance that led to the first floor where the Challenges began was somewhat unique.

Even though the two friends entered together, they found themselves all alone after passing through the barrier as if they were in different realms.

Since then, they started researching the Tower of Challenges to try to find out how it worked. They managed to find lots of new information like the Tower only allowed people younger than thirty to go to the first floor and attend the challenges. Anyone older was stopped by the barrier at the entrance of the first floor.

They also found out that it was impossible to break the barrier. Even though they didn't know who made this tower, both friends felt that this was the perfect place to establish the Academy of Elements that they wanted to make. They believed that this tower could be used to train the youngsters and see just what they were capable of.

Since then, they made a new system for the Tower. They created the formation stones to measure the floors that one managed to reach and connected the information to the source outside the tower to display a Ranking to motivate the youngsters to do better and to raise a competitive feeling inside them.

They also made some safety mechanisms in the stone to help the students escape faster. With time, the academy was created around the Tower of Challenges, and it became what it was known today.

Ever since the two friends found the Tower of Challenges, not a single person had managed to reach the highest floors. There were also many stories about the top floor of the Tower of Challenges.

Some stories said that the two founders managed to reach the top floor and left some rewards there for the first student who could get there. At the same time, there were also stories amongst the teachers that presented an entirely different picture.

The other story mentioned that even the Founders had failed to clear the ninety-ninth floor, so not a single person knew just what was on the hundredth floor! No one knew which version of the story was correct. All they knew was that it was hard to reach the hundredth Floor.

In fact, only a few people in history had managed to reach the ninety-ninth floor ever since the record-keeping began. Even the top student Garrick was nowhere close to reaching that level.

Gabriel entered the tower just out of curiosity. He just wanted to see what the tower Challenges were like. He just wanted to see what he was capable of and how far he could reach. Other than that, he had no plans. He just wanted to get to the highest floor he could to see just what he was capable of.

Since the Tower of Challenges was so hyped, even he hadn't expected himself to reach particularly high.

He passed through the barrier of the first floor. As soon as his body touched the barrier, he felt a strange feeling inside his body. It felt quite unique, which he had never experienced before.

The barrier didn't check his elements or anything. Instead, it just checked his age before giving him an independent space to climb the tower.

There were bright stairs before Gabriel as he passed through the barrier.

"Let's see just what I'm capable of."

Clenching his fist, he took his first step on the stairs and started climbing up.

Even though he didn't count the stairs, there weren't many. There only looked to be fifty or so stairs to climb.

He ran to the stairs, not intending to waste much time. Before long, he reached the top of the stairs.

He ended up in a Majestic Hall that was almost as big as the hall he had seen on the ground floor. The hall was completely empty. He couldn't see even a single person here. The only thing worth giving some attention here were the Knight Statues that were standing all around him near the walls.

The statues were covered in old Metallic Armor as if depicting ancient warriors. Some of those statues were holding only the swords, while others were holding Swords and Shields both. There were also some statues that held spears and some that had a stone ax.

There was no door anywhere which could lead to the higher floor, making this place look like a dead end.

"Where is the challenge of the First Floor?" Gabriel walked closer to the center of the room, observing his surroundings. He looked up as well, seeing if the path that led up was through the roof.

However, just as he looked up, he heard the sound of two metal pieces screeching against each other. He looked at the source of that sound, finding a statue there. Strangely enough, the statue seemed to have a different pose than he remembered. He was sure that it wasn't his misconception.

He heard a similar noise coming from behind him as well. He looked back, feeling a sense of danger.

As soon as Gabriel turned around, he saw a Metallic Spear flying straight toward his chest.

"Shield of Light!" Gabriel raised his left hand, casting a protective spell that consumed the least amount of his spiritual strength.

The Spear hit the Shield of Light, but it failed to pass through. Gabriel still didn't feel better. Instead, his sense of danger was increasing.

"Shield of Light!" He cast another shield of Light, this time behind him, blocking another attack that was only a meter away from hitting him.

"So this is the challenge!" Gabriel exclaimed. "You aren't dead. At least not in the conventional sense."

Another Statue seemingly came to life. One after another, all fifty statues came to life.

Finally, Gabriel understood why no one wanted a novice mage to come here. Just the first floor itself was dangerous.

"Too bad for you, I'm neither a novice mage nor a conventional Mage."

"If you want to play, let's play. I was already quite frustrated after what happened outside."

"Strength!"

"Speed!'

"Body of Light!"

Gabriel started casting spells one after another to boost his physical abilities.

At the start, he didn't want to use his Element of Darkness. He wanted to save it for higher floors. For now, he wanted to see just how far he could reach just with his Element of Light.

Fortunately, he wasn't empty handed either. He had a mid-tier Staff of Light to boost his spell strength, but he didn't use that. Instead, he decided to use a new toy.

He created some distance between him and the knights, jumping back to make sure all the Knights were in one place instead of all around him. It was better to deal with them.

"Come to me!" He reached out his right hand toward the left, using his connection with his spatial realm to call out something.

He had stolen a lot of Numens, and there was one that particularly intrigued him. He wanted to try that a lot. And what better situation than this, where he could test all the stolen Numens without anyone finding out about it?

"Sword of Ulien!"

He called out one of the Numens that he had stolen. The Sword of Ulien, which was said to be a sword that belonged to Demigod Ulien. Ulien was known to be a Demigod who was famous for his anger. It was said that even the slightest thing could anger him.

Moreover, when he was angry, he didn't listen to anyone. He didn't hesitate for even a second before raising his sword and killing the one who angered him. It didn't matter if there was a human before him or a Demigod.

It was this Sword that Ulien always carried with him, and he treated it like his family member. Unfortunately, this anger also became the reason for Ulien's demise as he attacked a person he never should've.

According to the legends, there was a time when Karyk was passing through Ulien's City. At the same time, Ulien was also riding on his horse inside the city streets, coming back from a hunt. On his way back, he noticed Karyk standing in the middle of the road, seemingly distracted by something.

Karyk was looking at the sky blankly. Despite repeated warnings from Ulien, Karyk didn't move and remained in a daze. Ulien thought that Karyk was ignoring him. Ulien didn't know Karyk at that time.

He had heard about Karyk, but he never saw him. For him, the guy before him was just an ordinary traveler since he couldn't feel anything special from him.

Enraged at being ignored, Ulien came down from his horse and attacked Karyk with his sword. Feeling a sense of danger, Karyk finally came out of his daze and looked ahead.

It was said that it was the day when Ulien died, and the legend of the angry King ended.

Karyk left the sword there and continued on his journey. The Sword became a Numen and went from hand to hand before ultimately ending up in the Academy of Element, only to be stolen by Gabriel. And thus, the Sword had completed an entire circle, reaching where it started.

A blood-red Sword appeared in Gabriel's hands, which felt as light as a feather, especially now that Gabriel had boosted his strength.

As soon as the sword ended in Gabriel's hands, it started resisting him fiercely as if the sword didn't want to work for the one responsible for its master's death. Still, the resistance only lasted for a few seconds before the Blood Red Sword gave up, thanks to the Ring of Necromancy.

Not only did the sword stop resisting, but it also provided complete support to Gabriel.

Gabriel held the sword firmly.

"Let me see! Show me the strength of a Numen!" Roaring, Gabriel slashed horizontally with the blood-red Sword that was blazing with a mystical energy.

A blood-red arc of light left the sharp blades of left, flying straight to the knights. The more distance this dark red arc of light traveled, the bigger it became.

Before long, the arc of dark red light hit the knights. Neither the metallic Armor of the Knights nor their Stone bodies and their weapons were able to stop the attack. The attack passed through the bodies of all Knight Statues, slicing their bodies in half.

Both halves of the statues dropped to the ground along with their weapons, turning to dust.

Gabriel knew that the sword was supposed to be strong since it was a Numen, but even he hadn't expected it to be this strong. With the help of this sword and his spells which increased his speed and strength, Gabriel believed he had found a nice combination.

Just as he was looking at the sword in slight amazement, he heard the sound of stone sliding.

He looked to his left, seeing a door shaped opening there which wasn't there before.

"The entrance to the Second Floor? So that's what it was. To even see the entrance to the next floor, we need to clear the current floor first."

Gabriel had cleared the first floor and quite easily at that. He didn't even feel tired as he hadn't used much strength. He didn't need any time for rest. He went to the next Floor right away.

Back on the Ground Floor, the old man was sitting in his chair, quite curious. It had been over half an hour, and Gabriel still wasn't back yet. He was sure that Gabriel should've given up by now. Then why wasn't he back?

"Don't tell me he is already dead? That would be a pity.'

At around the same time, Garrick also entered the Tower of Challenges. After dealing with all the mess with the teachers and the students, he decided to test how much he had grown. He came here to see if he could increase his rank and how much.

The old man happily gave Garrick a stone, inscribing the name and the element. He didn't even need to ask for such things since there was rarely anyone who didn't know Garrick at this point.

Garrick took the stone and went to the first floor while the old man again returned to worrying about Gabriel.

Garrick had taken the challenge of the tower, and not long after Gabriel, creating a race between the two unknowingly.

More and more students kept arriving as well, but only Garrick was worth interest to the old man.

Two hours passed. Gabriel still wasn't back. The old man was completely sure that Gabriel was dead by now. There was no other explanation as to why he wasn't back. The old man didn't even consider the possibility that he was still climbing.

Not many people realized it yet, but a new name appeared on the rankings of the tower outside.

[12000 Gabriel Light 12]

Gabriel had managed to bring his name in the rankings, which only showed the top twelve thousand in history. And he wasn't done yet. The name only continued rising. Fortunately, the year wasn't mentioned in the ranking, or it would've caused a commotion already.

Three more hours passed, and the name continued climbing.

[6009 Gabriel Light 25]

Within five hours of entering the tower, Gabriel had managed to reach the twenty-fifth floor, just a little shy of the top six thousandth rank.

Inside the tower, Gabriel was breathing heavily, sitting on his knees. He was really getting an idea as to why these floors were hard.

Over two thousand fierce beasts came before him, and it was left the twenty-fifth Floor. His blood-red Sword was covered in the blood of the beast as Gabriel sat, surrounded by thousands of dead bodies.

After taking some time to gather his breath, he stood up and walked to the door of the next floor.

"At this pace, I think I might need to use my Element of Necromancy soon. We'll see... I will continue as long as I can...'

He passed through the door, stepping onto the twenty-sixth floor.

As he stepped onto the next floor, his ranking rose once again.

[5574 Gabriel Light 26]

It was now that a few people finally started noticing his name, but they didn't pay much attention to it even now. It was a good rank but not shocking. The Fourth Year Mages of Light thought that it must be a third-year mage of Light.

On the other hand, the third-year mages of Light thought that it must be a Fourth Year Mage of Light. In their confusion, no one checked or found a new name odd.

Gabriel took his first step on the 26th floor, expecting more beasts to face, but things were different this time.

There were no beasts. Moreover, he wasn't on the battlefield either. Instead, he was in a small room that was only three meters long and two meters wide. There were no beasts. There were no statues of anything similar either. Something was very wrong here…

The room was small, and it didn't have anything but a simple table in the middle. The table seemed to be one with the floor, which meant it was impossible to move that table.

On the round table, something was lying. A small wooden board was lying in the middle of the table that covered half of it.

Gabriel stepped closer to the table. He didn't see anyone here who could attack him, which meant the floor was different from the other floors. He felt that the way to clear the floor was related to the small wooden board in the middle.

As Gabriel stepped closer to the wooden board, he was able to see it much better. The wooden board was divided into four colors. One-fourth of the board was black. The other twenty-five perfect of the board was red. The third quarter was white while the fourth quarter was blue.

In each of the four parts, there was a strange symbol drawn that was impossible to read even for him.

In the middle of the board, where all the colors joined, there was a small piece of stone.

"What is this thing?"

There was no instruction on what he had to do. There was nothing else happening here either, which made him feel that he had all he needed to clear the floor. He just needed to find out how.

The guard was the answer and the colors that were on it.

"Four colors, four symbols, and one stone..."

He circled around the table, making sure there wasn't anything he was missing. He even checked under the table. Unfortunately, there was nothing under the table either.

"This is a headache. If they wanted to make me fight for these challenges, it would've been much better, but I don't even know what the challenge is here."

He reached out his hand and touched the stone in the middle, gently trying to pick it up.

"Hmm?"

Even as he tried to pick up the piece of stone, he realized that he just couldn't. There was some very powerful gravity that was pulling the stone down, making it impossible for him to pick the stone. The stone was certainly moving a bit but not rising in the air.

"Strength!"

He cast the strengthening spell before trying again, but it was the same even how. The more strength he applied, the stronger that gravity became, making it impossible even now.

"It seems I'm not supposed to pick it up. Then again, the stone isn't fixed to the board. It's only a force that is pulling it down. It can still move a little. If I'm not wrong, I should be able to slide it to the side. But what if that's the challenge?"

"These four colors... And a stone that could only be slided... No matter where I move this stone, it will leave the exact center, ending up in one of the four colors..."

"I wonder if that's what this Floor is about? Selecting your own trial? Could it be that all these four colors represent one of the trials, and moving the stone to them would be like selecting that trial for the twenty-sixth floor? Is the tower providing me with options? This would be quite interesting if true."

"Then again, it's not like I can read what's written on these colors. I'm completely oblivious about these letters, so it'll just be blind luck at this point."

Since he couldn't read anything that was written on the colors, he could only let his luck take over and just take a random guess. As all four were unknown options, he wasn't losing anything.

It was better to test than just waste time since there was nothing else on this Floor. He held the stone piece with his hand and slid it to the side. If he had to select one of the four choices, he selected the dark color.

He didn't know what the letters on these colors were, but he went with the possibility that these colors represented the Elements. The color black was for darkness, white for light. The red was for fire and the blue for water. There were two pairs of opposites on the board. Still, that was only his guess. He didn't know if it was right.

If he had to select one of the four Elements for his challenge on this floor, he decided to choose the Element of Darkness. With his Element of Necromancy, he believed he had a better chance against darkness. Moreover, he also had the element of Light, which made it the perfect choice.

Just as he expected, the stone piece moved easily. Moreover, it only took a gentle push from him to move the stone piece before it started moving on its own. The stone piece moved to the center of the black block.

Gabriel stepped back, holding the sword firmly. He was prepared for anything, but instead of the Trial, a door appeared behind him.

"Hmm? The door to the twenty-seventh floor? That was it? This was the twenty-sixth floor's challenge?"

As if the floor was less confusing already, it became even more confusing for him when the door to the next floor opened. It was as if all he needed was to move the stone to clear the floor, which was quite unexpected since he had prepared himself for some challenge.

"Strange Tower..." Even though he was confused, he didn't think too much about it. If the door to the next floor opened, he decided to leave, believing the subsequent trial was going to be much better hopefully.

Gabriel walked to the door.

"Urgh..."

When Gabriel was about to walk through the door, he felt pain. He lowered his head, noticing his chest had started bleeding as if a sword had penetrated his chest. However, he couldn't see any sword. He could only see the blood and a hole in his chest. Fortunately, his vitals were missed in this attack.

He couldn't see any enemy, but he was sure that the Sword had penetrated him from the front! So whoever attacked him was right before him, and it was impossible to see them.

Gabriel's clothes were already covered in his own blood. Having a rough idea of where the attack came from, Gabriel attacked with the Sword of Ulien.

As soon as he attacked, he felt the invisible sword that had stabbed him being pulled out.

The attack from the Sword of Ulien only hit empty air, as if the attacker had already moved away. If it was true, that speed even amazed Gabriel. The attacker was like a shadow in darkness... Silent, fast, and impossible to see. As Gabriel was about to leave the floor, he was attacked by an enemy that was impossible to see. It was like an invisible warrior who was fast like the wind.

Gabriel had attacked right away, but his attack still didn't hit the invisible enemy, which meant that the enemy was faster than his attack speed.

"Shield of Light!"

There were too many questions, but first Gabriel needed some time to gather his thoughts and come up with a plan. He cast a barrier of light around him, providing him with some protection.

At the same time, he also placed his hand on his chest, casting a healing spell. "Minor Heal!"

The wound on his chest wasn't a minor wound. Because of it, even his Minor Healing spell couldn't heal him right away, but it was better than nothing. The Minor Healing spell stopped his bleeding and increased his healing speed.

Gabriel looked around the room, protected by his barrier. The room still looked empty. It was exactly like before, but he wasn't going to make the same mistake of thinking this room was empty.

"I know you are still here... somewhere in this small room. I can also say that you're a good enemy. It's easier to fight thousands of enemies that you can see but harder to fight even one enemy that you can't see. Unfortunately, that only works in two situations."

"First is if it's a successful first attack while the enemy is still unaware of your existence," Gabriel explained while waiting for his wound to heal a little more. He didn't know where the enemy was, but he wanted to keep that person engaged for a little longer so he could recover more.

He received no response as if he was just talking to himself. Surprisingly, the enemy didn't attack either. It was unclear if that was because they knew that he was protected by a barrier or because they wanted to hear him finish what he was saying first.

" In fact, your first attempt was definitely good. I'm surprised I didn't feel the attack coming. I don't feel any sense of danger for some reason. Then again, you missed... You should've gone for the heart.'

"The second situation where invisibility gives you the best advantage? If it's in a big area, not in this closed space like we are in now. You know why?"

The enemy still didn't respond. If Gabriel didn't know that there was someone inside, he really would've thought that he was all alone here.

Fortunately, by how his wounds had healed for the most part after another successful Minor Heal.

"It's because, in a small space, you don't have many places to escape, do you?"

Gabriel raised his right hand. "I wanted to save using these for later, but oh well... You've earned it."

He canceled the protection spell.

As if sensing something wrong, the invisible enemy attacked again. Unfortunately, by now it was too late for him.

"Soul Explosion!"

Gabriel used one of the two new offensive spells that he had acquired recently.

As soon as he cast the spell, an Evil Spirit came out of the Dark Ring, as if being forced out.

As soon as the dark spirit came out screeching, it exploded, letting a terrible destructive energy flow everywhere.

Since it was a small room, that explosive energy management to cover every corner of the place. Gabriel knew that his enemy was fast enough to avoid his sword attacks, or maybe even his single point spells, but how could one avoid an attack that targeted every single corner at once?

Only Gabriel was safe in the entire room, as the destructive soul energy had no effect on him.

It was like a powerful bomb had exploded in the middle of the room, which actually managed to hit the enemy.

Even that invisible person couldn't avoid the attack as his body flew back, crashing into the wall in the back.

The person used to be invisible, but now that his entire body was covered in blood, his invisibility was basically useless.

Through the trails of blood, Gabriel could make a rough idea of the enemy, who seemed like a human. It was a man who had one hand missing. It was unclear if he had that hand before or if it was destroyed in the current explosion itself.

The man's legs were bleeding as well, just like the rest of his body. He couldn't even move his body.

"Told you, it's a disadvantage for you to fight in this room." Gabriel walked closer to the body lying in the distance. "Then again, it was definitely interesting to fight you. I didn't know there were enemies like you as well. Next time, I'll be more careful."

Gabriel placed the tip of his sword in the chest of the man, thrusting the sword deep inside. Unlike the man, Gabriel didn't miss the vitals.

The man finally died, and his body turned to dust like the bodies of the others that Gabriel killed.

"Not a real person either," Gabriel muttered, looking up. "This tower..."

The tower could bring these people to exist just for the challenges, which was a feat in itself. It made him really curious as to how someone was able to make a tower like this.

He was also somewhat impressed by his Soul Explosion. It was his first time using this spell, and it was just as he expected... It was a powerful spell, and it covered a large area around him.

"It can be a great spell for offense and for defense when fighting a close-range fighter. Then again, every time I use this spell, I'll lose a soul from the Grimoire, sacrificing it. I don't know if this affects the Grimoire's strength... Hopefully not."

From what he heard through stories, Karyk had absorbed Billions of Souls, but he didn't know about this Grimoire or how many Souls this Forbidden Book had.

There could be more spells in the future that might need these spells, so he didn't want to hastily destroy the souls without knowing more about this Grimoire.

Despite all the questions, he was still very pleased with everything.

He walked to the door and passed through to the next floor.

[5218 Gabriel Light 27]

The name of Gabriel rose through the tanks again.

An entire day had passed since Gabriel cleared the 26th floor. By now, the old man was entirely sure that Gabriel was dead, so he decided to forget about him and became busy with his work.

He didn't realize that there was something quite interesting happening outside.

A name that the Mages had never seen before on the rankings not only appeared on the rankings, but it was climbing high at a speed that they rarely saw.

"Who is this Gabriel? I'm sure I never saw that name on the rankings. How is it possible that it's his first time appearing on the ranking, and he managed to reach that high?"

Even fourth year students were looking at the rankings in amazement.

[918 Gabriel Light 57]

As soon as Gabriel started using his Element of Necromancy and his Grimoire, his speed of climbing the tower increased by multiple folds. In less than two days of entering the tower, he was already in the top thousand!

"It seems the Third Year Mages were hiding a talented mage. You think this might be another Garrick in the making?"

"Heh, they wish. There is only one Garrick. He managed to enter the top hundred ranking when he was in the third year. This year, he might even enter the top fifty. This third-year brat might be doing well for that stage, but he's not even close."

"Hahahaha, you're right. It seems I was overthinking. The higher they go, the harder these Challenges become. This Gabriel should be out soon."

"Exactly. If I were to guess, I'd say that he would be out before reaching the 70th floor."

"Correct."

While fourth year mages were praising Gabriel, thinking it was a great achievement for a third year Mage of Light, none of them believed that he could go much higher.

At the same time, the Third Year Mages of Light were also slightly amazed. However, they didn't even compare Garrick with Gabriel. For them, both Gabriel and Garrick were from fourth year. Despite being on the same footing, Gabriel was very far.

There was another person who was looking at the name on the ranking.

Maya stood before the tower, blankly staring at the name on the tower. It had been a long time since she heard or saw that name.

"It can't be him... It must be someone who shares the same name! He can't be here... He can't."

She didn't believe that it was her Gabriel. Even though this Gabriel also had the Element of Light, according to what she heard, this Gabriel was a Senior, which made her sure that it wasn't the Gabriel she knew.

Back inside the tower, Gabriel continued climbing up. His clothes were drenched in blood, and he was heavily sweating. He didn't have much rest ever since he entered the tower. Moreover, as he came Higher, the battles and the challenges became even fiercer.

He had been hurt so many times. If it wasn't for his Minor Healing, he was sure he would've been in quite some trouble. The Healing Spells were the biggest advantage that a Mage of Light possessed, after all.

There was one thing which he found quite good. After every ten floors, he received something to eat. It was like the tower was making sure that the participants didn't have to leave the tower because of hunger! The tower wanted them to only leave once they were defeated or gave up.

Thanks to the door, and the momentary rest he received, Gabriel was still able to go on.

He was so immersed in these challenges that he had already forgotten about the outside world and what commotion his reaching so far could be causing outside!

Ten more hours passed. It was another morning when people started coming back to the tower, wondering if Gabriel was out now.

Their surprise only increased to see that Gabriel was still inside the tower! Not only did he not lose, his speed of climbing only increased; they didn't understand how it was even possible!

[318 Gabriel Light 86]

For some reason, the person they thought couldn't even cross the 70th floor was already on the 86th floor.

[249 Gabriel Light 87]

"No way! He is still going?"

"Just what kind of monster is he? It's his first time entering the rankings of the tower, and he's already in the top 250?"

The news about Gabriel was spreading through the entire tower. By now, the news had become big enough to even attract the attention of the Teachers.

The students of the third and fourth years might be initially confused as to which year Gabriel was from, but with time, the two sides started talking about it.

It was finally revealed that none of the two sides knew any Gabriel! This Gabriel was neither a student of the third year nor was he a student of the fourth year!

They also managed to confirm that there was no student with this name in the first and the second year, which raised the question as to who this guy was.

The strange news about an unknown student appearing in the tower was enough to make even Eliana, and the other Head Council Teachers come out, who were quite busy trying to get to Izen.

By now, it was like the entire academy was standing before the Tower of Challenges, looking at the rankings.

Some were even cheering for Gabriel, wondering if he could actually manage to break the record and reach the top floor.

Eliana didn't know who this Gabriel was, but she was sure it was one of the students. There was no way a stranger could enter the tower like that.

"This Gabriel is quite interesting. Until yesterday, I hadn't even heard that name and how this name is on the tongue of everyone in the academy." Lishen commented. "Even umm curious to see who that guy is."

"It's definitely a Mage of Light," Rem chimed in. "Whoever this person is, he chose to lie about his name. Unfortunately, even he can't lie about his Element since they all need to show their marks to enter. That means he is definitely a Mage of Light. But who?"

"Could it be that Garrick entered with a fake name just to have some fun?" Lishen asked. "I can only think of one person who can reach that high in the rankings in such a short time."

"I don't know," Eliana responded. She was completely ignorant about it. "However, I know one person who can answer."

Eliana stopped looking at the ranking and entered the tower. The other Head Council Members also entered behind her.

Seeing all the Head Council members arrive at once, the old man stood up, surprised. He wondered why they were all here together.

Eliana stopped before the old man who greeted all the Head Council Members.

"Did someone named Gabriel enter the Tower?" Eliana asked the old man, not wasting a single second of her precious time.

"Oh, you mean that first year Mage of Light? Yeah, he entered a few days ago." The old man still remembered Gabriel as it didn't happen a long time ago. "I told him not to take the risk, but he didn't listen. If I'm not wrong, the poor kid is already dead."

"First Year Mage?" Eliana wasn't the only one who was taken aback. The Gabriel who managed to climb so high was a first year mage.

"What nonsense. A first-year mage can't climb this high!" Yann scoffed even at the thought of this notion.

"Climb that high? What do you mean? Are you talking about Gabriel? Is this a joke? How high can that kid even climb? If he weren't dead, he would've been out by now." The old man still didn't understand.

Lishen placed his hand on the shoulders of the old man. "It seems you haven't left the tower in quite some time. Go out and check the rankings."

Lishen took the old man out with him.

The old man stepped out of the tower and looked up, wondering what he was supposed to see. He started looking from the lowest ranking. Since these people talked about Gabriel climbing high, he wondered if the kid had managed to enter the top 12000 ranking by some miracle which should've been impossible.

"Not there. Look from there..." Lishen pointed up.

"From there? Are you joking with me? There is no way tha-"

The old man looked up, not expecting anything much. However, as soon as he looked up, his jaws dropped open. His eyes had managed to locate a name that shouldn't be here. And the ranking...

[98 Gabriel Light 93]

"T-t-top hundred? This can't be!" The old man was shocked… He was even horrified. How was this even possible? Was he dreaming? No! This should've been impossible!

He wasn't the only one who was shocked. The other students were also in a commotion.

Gabriel had managed to reach floor 93! It was the same floor which was the highest floor of Garrick!

In fact, Garrick's last score was just one tank above him!

[97 Garrick Raini Light 93]

"He... He tied Senior Garrick! Just who is this monster? Where was he hiding all this time?!"

Even the fourth-year mages of light found it hard to believe their own eyes. It was the same for the Teachers.

The commotion wasn't in the House of Light but the entire academy! There was another student as capable as Garrick, and they had no idea about it! Didn't this mean the House of Light was only getting stronger?

"Look! Senior Garrick's name moved up!" There was a sudden exclamation that alerted everyone.

The person was right! Garrick's score moved up. Gabriel wasn't the only one who was inside the tower. Garrick was also there to break his last score as he believed he was stronger now than when he attended it last time!

[90 Garrick Raini Light 94]

The ones who were suspicious that Garrick might be using a different name to climb the tower realized how wrong they were. Both Gabriel and Garrick were inside the tower, and both were climbing separately!

Moreover, it seemed as if there was a race between two star disciples of the House of Light to see who was going to get higher! It was a race between the current strongest Fourth Year Student of the Academy Garrick, and the mysterious Gabriel, who came out of nowhere, making his name known throughout the Academy!

The old man couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the ranking. The young man that he expected to be dead on the first floor itself managed to reach the 93rd floor? How was that even possible?

Gabriel was just the first year mage who rarely learned anything at the academy! It was also his first time entering the Tower of Challenges. In his first attempt he was already on that floor? The old man wondered if there was something wrong in the mechanism which was showing the wrong ranking of Gabriel?

"He's in the top hundred now? Just where will he stop?" Even Lishen was getting more and more impressed with each passing second. Supposedly it was all the doing of a First Year Mage of Light.

He had seen the First Yeah mages of light, and there were definitely some who were capable enough, but none should've been this capable.

Lishen took the old man back inside where the others were discussing the same matter. Amongst the first year, Eliana could only think of three students who were more talented than the others. Gabriel, Cain and Lelin. She still knew Gabriel as Karyk.

Amongst the three, she had seen Cain outside so it couldn't be him. That made her wonder if the person who was inside was one of the other two.

Both the Mages of Light had a talent that was beyond anything she had seen in a long time. In fact, Gabriel's talent when measured was at a level that was never seen before.

"Could it be one of those two?" she wondered, frowning.

She looked behind, watching the old man return with a pale face.

The man kept repeating only one word blankly. "Impossible... Impossible... Impossible..."

He had been incharge of the Tower of Challenges for Decades. It was his first time seeing something like this happen. Was that kid really this talented? Was he really wrong about him?

"What did this Gabriel look like?" Eliana asked. "Tell us everything you know about him!"

The old man came out of his daze, hearing the command of Eliana.

"I-it was a young boy, who looked like he wasn't even twenty years old."

The old man started describing features of Gabriel, not realizing he was describing an illusion.

"Karyk!" Hearing the description, Rem and Eliana exclaimed at the same time. If they had confusion between the two youngsters now they were sure! The person that was being described was Karyk! Karyk used a fake name to enter the tower! But why? Why would he use a fake name to enter?

That aside, how was he even capable of getting that far? When he came for admission, he was a Novice Mage who had just awakened his Element. It was claimed that he didn't even know one decent spell! Then how was he able to climb this high?

To get that high, one not only needed to know multiple offensive spells, but they needed to have immense spiritual strength! It should've been impossible for a Novice Mage, no matter how talented they were.

"He knew spells without learning them in the Academy... He knew them... That means he learned spells outside the Academy..." As soon as Eliana found out that it was Gabriel, her mind started racing. It was as if all the pieces were coming together finally. Something big was going on in the academy, and it was related to Gabriel!

Lost in her thoughts, she started walking away from others, talking to herself.

She remembered that when Hawrin died, they had noticed that a purification and a healing spell was used. It was the Minor Healing spell that they didn't teach at the academy. That also meant whoever did it learned that spell outside the academy... Just like Gabriel.

"The Dorms where Hawrin was killed, Karyk lived in the same place as well. And his conflict with Hawrin outside the Academy... How could I be so blind? The Dark Mage who infiltrated the Academy wasn't working alone! Karyk was supporting him!

"It's also possible that the Dark Mage sent Karyk to the Academy to kill Hawrin and create a path for his entrance. This would explain why Karyk lied to us when applying for admission. I was so lost in his talent, that I never doubted him!"

"But how is this possible?" Even though she had managed to find the possibilities, her mind still found it hard to believe it. Gabriel was 18 years old. Even if he was taught spells, how could he reach so high at such an early age? It took years to master such spells even for someone highly talented.

If Gabriel had mastered these spells at the age of eighteen, just when did he start learning these spells? When did he awaken his element of Light? There were too many questions, and the only one who could answer was Gabriel.

Rem was also curious. Just what was this Gabriel? Was he really someone who lied to them? Or was there really something wrong with the Tower that was showing a wrong score?

Eliana was angry when she returned. She was really angry! She had been fooled! She just wanted to enter the tower and drag Gabriel out to interrogate him but even she couldn't do anything before this ancient tower. Even she couldn't do anything but wait.

"No one is allowed to enter the tower until Karyk comes out! You understand?" She instructed the old man. She didn't want anyone to be in this place when Gabriel came out. It was for the safety of the students.

Unaware as to the situation was turning really bad for him outside, Gabriel was still inside the tower.

At this point, he had cancelled all his illusions and he was fighting as his real self. His Ancestral Staff of Necromancy was already outside.

At this height in the Tower, even he found it really hard to stay standing. He was on the 93rd Floor and there was only one enemy before him. Unfortunately, that enemy was the real problem.

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Before entering the ninety third floor, he had cast a purifying spell on his clothes to remove all the blood from them, but he was once again drenched in blood.

Screeching of Spirits echoed in the surroundings as the Shield of Undead remained before Gabriel, protecting him from all the attacks.

On the other side of the shield, there was a headless mage standing. The distance between the headless mage and his shield was over a thousand feet.

Unlike the other enemies he faced so far, this headless mage seemed to be a long distance warrior who had never once stepped closer to him.

Moreover, the headless mage seemingly never ran out of strength. He was like a Machine who never stopped attacking or took a break.

There was not a single moment where an attack didn't come in Gabriel's direction, and all the attacks were filled with overwhelming strength.

Even though the Shield of Undead was protecting him; against the constant barrage of attacks, even Gabriel felt like he was getting weaker. He knew he needed to stop using defence and attack, but the enemy wasn't even giving him an opportunity.

The distance between the two was too much.

"At this rate, I will run out of my Spiritual Energy before this battle is over. I need to find a way to get to him. But how?"

Whenever he went ahead to attack, another attack came in his direction which sent him flying back. If he could somehow avoid those attacks, there was another problem. This entire dessert where he was fighting seemed to be a disadvantage for him.

There were traps everywhere! It was like there were thousands of explosive spells spread all around the desert, buried under sand which exploded as soon as someone stepped on them.

Not only did he need to get close to the Headless Mage while avoiding the constant attacks, he also needed to do this while avoiding all those expensive spells!

"Do I really have no choice but to use..."

He seemed somewhat hesitant, but he also didn't want to lose after coming this far. At the moment, he didn't think about anything else. He didn't think about which floor he had reached or what the reaction outside was going to be! All he cared about was winning!

He just wanted to win at any cost, no matter what he had to do.

"Fine. If that's what it takes, then so be it!"

The floor was too hard to clear. He only had disadvantages here while the enemy had only advantages. Since the enemy wasn't a real being, he never ran out of spiritual strength. Moreover, he could use spells of three Elements! The battlefield was also an advantage to him, along with the fact that he was as strong as a Teacher at the Academy of Elements!

All these made Gabriel decide to use everything he had!

"I am sorry for calling you out so soon, but I need support!"

Gabriel raised his right hand toward the sky as he roared, "Undead Summon!

Gabriel couldn't get close to the Headless Mage. And the distance between the two was so high that even if he attacked, he believed the Headless Mage could avoid it. The chances of success were low.

He didn't feel like it was the right decision to waste more strength on a half chance as he needed to reserve some strength for the next few floors as well, including her main attacks, since they were going to be more difficult than this.

At this stage, he didn't want to waste strength if he wasn't sure that it was going to help him. The Spirit Explosion also wasn't as useful in this situation since the Headless Horse wasn't getting close to him.

He needed help, and who better to help him than the person that was able to hold all the Head Council Teachers at bay?

The only hesitation he had was that he only sent the Infernal Sorcerer back a few days ago, and calling him back so soon wasn't something he wanted to do initially. However, that was the best option for now. Moreover, it was also a perfect opportunity to see just what the Infernal King was capable of.

He called out the Infernal King!

Now that a contract was already established with the Infernal King, he could call him back much easier without the need to call forth a contracting gate.

A blood-red formation circle appeared before him. The temperature in the surrounding area started getting warmer as soon as the Formation Circle appeared.

The Infernal King wanted to come back home as soon as he was summoned by Gabriel for the first time.

Unfortunately, instead of getting back home, he was sent to the Museum of Elements, where he was attacked. Just as he was fighting back, finally the summoning spell was canceled.

In the end, he finally returned to where he was taken from. He returned to the Realm of the Undead.

The ashes of the Damphirs were still there, but for some reason, his flaming horse wasn't there anymore.

There was no sign of it everywhere.

The Infernal King frowned. He raised his right hand, clenching his fist. He closed his eyes and tried to sense his flaming partner.

No matter how far it could be, he was able to sense it. Fortunately, since it had only been a few hours, the flaming horse wasn't too far.

The Infernal King was able to sense that it was nearby.

He advanced in the direction where he could sense the presence of his horse.

After walking for close to half an hour, he finally reached his destination. He could see a camp in the distance, which was heavily guarded by Damphirs.

He could also see a Royal Carriage. The sight of the carriage made him remember the words of the Damphirs that he had killed before. It seemed that the carriage belonged to the Damphir Princess, who was here on exploration.

He was sure that his horse was inside the camp, and it didn't take him long to locate it either. However, as soon as he located his horse, his blood started boiling.

His horse was lying on the ground in the center of the camp. There were multiple wounds all around its body, and its legs were tied with a rope that didn't burn.

The horse was really hurt, but fortunately, it was still alive, which the Infernal King could see as the horse still had a weak flame around its body.

As if sensing its master nearby, the flaming horse weakly opened its eyes. His flames intensified a bit as well.

The Infernal King had only left for a few hours, and his partner was attacked and captured by the Damphirs! This was unacceptable!

Dark flames of anger burned in the heart of the Infernal King, who was in a really bad mood today. Not only did he have to leave when he started fighting back in the museum, but after returning, he found this. The Damphirs was really crossing the line.

He stepped closer to the Camp without any hesitation. These people wanted to hunt them? He was going to give them a chance.

As the Internal King reached closer to the camp of the Damphirs, the Damphirs also noticed him.

The guards ran out of the camp to stop him, but for some reason, as soon as they stepped out of the camp, their bodies burned to ashes instantly as a dark sphere of fire hit them from the front.

The Damphirs was fast, but not faster than the attack of the Infernal King, who had never been angrier.

The screams of the Damphirs who were burned alerted the others as well. Even the Damphirs who were inside the tent stepped out, including the Princess.

The young Princess stepped out of her tent, only to see the gruesome sight of her people being killed like animals.

Her Warriors were like children before the Infernal King. Seeing his strength, even her beautiful face turned pale.

When she found out that her people had been killed before, she believed that it was the doing of this horse. Even though there were stories about the Infernal King traveling on a flaming horse, she didn't believe it was the same horse since it was all alone at the sight where her people were killed.

That made her take some drastic steps. All the Damphirs attacked the Flaming Horse, ultimately managing to capture it. They had also sent a messenger with this information to their Kingdom.

It was only now that she realized for sure that this horse was the horse of the Infernal King. It seemed that they had captured something that they shouldn't. Still, she couldn't step back now. Even if they had captured the horse, they had reason to do it since their people were killed!

She couldn't bow before the Infernal King when they weren't in the wrong.

"Even though I wasn't sure if this was his horse, I did consider the possibility. That's why I kept this thing alive. But not to return it to you!" She muttered as if talking to herself since the Infernal King was so far, he couldn't hear it.

"It doesn't matter who you are; I won't let you walk over us! If you really care for this horse enough to attack us for it, then I'll make sure you fall to your knees before us!"

She pulled out a sword and walked to the Flaming Horse. She stopped right before the flaming horse who was lying on the ground, tied in special ropes. The horse couldn't move even as the Princess placed the tip of her Sword right on its head. Just one thrust and she could kill the horse.

"Lone King! Stop where you are!" She roared in an authoritative voice. "If not, you'll be losing what you're here for!"

The Infernal Sorcerer dropped in his tracks as soon as he saw what the Princess was threatening him with.

The Damphirs who were still alive surrounded the Infernal Sorcerer. One of them brought the same special rope which they used horse.

In the distance, the Princess was smugly smiling. She had managed to stop the Infernal King! If she could only take him hostage now, the reputation of her Empire was going to go through the roof. The Infernal King wasn't an ordinary entity in the Realm of the Dead after all.

The Infernal King raised his hand but not to attack. He took off his good, revealing his charming yet emotionless face. The flames in his left eye flickered when more brighter. The flames had turned to pitch black from their usual blue.

"Now go down on your knees and let my men capture you! I promise you, we won't harm you! We will only take you to our Empire!"

The Infernal King frowned. The Infernal King rarely spoke in his life, but when he did, he was very precise. It was one of those times.

His lips parted as he let out a few words that sent a chill down the spines of the Damphirs that were surrounding him.

"You don't need to take me. I will go myself... To deliver your ashes."

"Argh!"

The Princess was stunned at the response, but before she could even react, she felt a terrifying pain on the hand which was holding the Sword. It was as if her hand was burning.

She looked down, noticing that her hand was actually on fire. The sword which used to be in her hand was also blazing hot. In fact, or looked like the fire was only spreading through her arms like a poison.

The Infernal King spread his arms as a cloud of dark flames spread out from him, burning everything that stood in its path.

Seeing the power of Dark Flames coming toward her, the Damphir Princess was horrified. This man was crazy! He was still attacking her even if his horse's life was in danger?

Unfortunately, more than taking someone else's life, she wanted to save her own. To avoid the flames, she started running away as fast as she could, leaving the Sword and the burning horse behind.

The dark flames burned all the Damphirs that were around the Infernal Sorcerer. Only their painful screams could be heard which made the Princess even more scared! The entire camp started burning. The only ones that weren't affected by the flames were the Infernal King and his horse.

In fact, instead of hurting the horse, the flames rather made him stronger. All his wounds healed. Even the ropes that were said to never burn turned to ashes before the Infernal Flames.

The Flaming Horse was not only free, but he was also perfectly fine.

The Horse stood up and ran to the Infernal Sorcerer.

The Damphir Princess was running as fast as she could as her life was on the line, barely keeping some lead with the dark flames. Her face was pale, and she felt she was just inches away from death which she wanted to avoid at any cost. She was really regretting her decisions of coming here in the first place!

A dark cloud of flames was relentlessly following the Damphir Princess to burn her to ashes, but before the cloud of flames could reach her, something else came out of the dark clouds.

It was a blazing horse, surrounded in dark flames. A proud figure was sitting on the horse. The horse was not only faster than the Flames, but it was also way faster than the Damphirs who were known for their speed.

Within seconds, the horse moved past the Damphir Princess, making her expressions turn even darker. After creating fifty metres of distance between the Damphir Princess and itself, the horse slowed down and turned around.

The Infernal King stepped down the horse, glaring at the Damphirs Princess who was running toward him.

The Damphir Princess was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Behind her, there was a cloud of dark flames which could burn her to cinders, but before her, there was the Infernal King, who was burning in flames of anger. She knew that if the Damphir King got her, her death was going to be worse than anything she could imagine.

"You can't do this to me! I am the Princess of the Damphir Kingdom! Stop right now and let me leave! I'll forget everything that happened here! Don't make this mistake. My father won't leave you if I'm killed!"

The Infernal King snapped his fingers. Within seconds, the flames that were chasing after the Damphir Princess stopped.

The Damphir Princess looked behind. The terrifying fire was gone. She sighed in relief and slowed down.

'It seems the threat worked.'

She stopped, placing her hands on her knees as she gasped for breath.

"Thank you for listening to me. I'll also keep my side of the promise. I won't mention this to my father. I'll forget what happened here. You can also leave safely and not worry about anything. By stopping at the right time, you saved your life from my father's wrath!"

The Infernal King stepped closer to the Damphir Princess. He stood mere inches away from her.

"I want to see his wrath..." He hoarsely stated, grabbing the throat of the Damphir Princess. "The Sins of the Daughter, shall be cleansed by her blood only."

"Arghh!" The Damphir Princess felt her throat burn. The pain was tormenting for her as the fire slowly spread to her entire body.

When the Infernal King killed the guards that were blocking his path and refusing to move, even though he was angry, he gave them an easy death. They didn't feel pain even as they died. However, this woman didn't deserve the same mercy.

She dared torture his friend! She dared to leave wounds on his body and threaten him with his death! All these sins weren't worth mercy from him. And if it meant that he had to destroy the entire Damphir Empire later on, he was ready!

If her father wanted to show him his wrath over this, then he was also ready to show his real strength to make this world tremble before him!

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The Princess burned to ashes, suffering a painful death.

The Infernal King's fists were empty as the Princess died, but still he picked up a tiny bit of her ashes. He promised her he was going to take her ashes to her father, and he was going to keep that promise. Instead of waiting for enemies, he wanted to go to them to teach them what they should never do!

Strangely enough, in the ashes, he also found something else. It was a small coin, which he didn't understand much about. On one side of the coin, there was a moon carved, but it didn't look like their moon. It was like the moon of the earth. On the other end of the coin, there was a face of a man which he didn't recognise.

Still, without thinking too much about it, he kept the coin with him as well. He didn't feel like throwing it away, especially since the coin had managed to survive his dark flames without melting, which meant there was certainly something quite special about it. As for what, he didn't know.

After more than a day of journey, the Infernal King was only halfway to the Kingdom of Damphirs when he noticed a formation circle appear above him. The formation circle pulled him up and swallowed him whole.

The Infernal King was summoned by Gabriel. He appeared right before him, coming out of the Formation Circle.

Gabriel used the Summoning to call forth a little extra help for the battle. However, as soon as the Infernal King came out of the Summoning Formation, Gabriel saw him glaring at him.

The Infernal King couldn't believe that he was back here again. However, this time he didn't think about attacking Gabriel. He had already realized that it was already useless after his experience of last time.

"What... Now?"

He was sure that if he was called here again, then it could be that Gabriel needed help again.

"You can speak?" Gabriel exclaimed in shock. He used to think that the Infernal King couldn't speak, only to find him speaking now.

The Infernal King frowned, sending the aura of death nearby. He gazed at the Shield of the Undead. Through the shield, he was also able to see a barrage of attacks that were coming in their direction.

"Alright. I called you here because I need your help again." Since the Infernal King didn't look like he wanted to answer, Gabriel decided to move on.

He informed the Infernal King about the kind of help he needed. He also told the Infernal King as to where he was and what his goal was here.

After hearing everything, the Infernal King raised his head, looking up. A tower with a hundred floors that had beings like this? This place was quite intriguing even for him since the aura of this place wasn't as disgusting to him as the aura outside.

He felt much more comfortable here than he felt in Gabriel's room.

Even though he understood what kind of help Gabriel needed, he was also slightly upset. He had things to do as well in the Realm of Undead, but Gabriel kept calling him here. It was twice now. He wondered just how long it was going to go on like this. He had to find a way.

"After you help me get to the top floor, I will send you back," Gabriel chimed in, seeing the uncertainty. "Moreover, you won't need to fight much either. I'll be fighting alone as long as I don't need you. So you can just be a backup."

Hearing the same line as before, the Infernal King rubbed the back of his neck, raising his head.

"I won't help." Ultimately, the Infernal King refused to help.

"What?" Gabriel wasn't expecting this response. "Why not?"

He could force the Infernal King even now, but forcing him was going to consume a lot of his spiritual strength, which defeated the entire purpose of calling the Infernal King here. One of the reasons he called the Infernal King here was because he wanted to save his Spiritual Strength for the higher floors.

The Infernal King just glared back in response. He didn't like talking much, especially with the ones who he didn't respect, but it looked as if he had to explain in words for Gabriel to understand.

"You keep calling me here when you need my help. Why should I be your servant? You aren't worthy," the Infernal King answered. "Even if I help you this time and you send me back, you'll just call me back again the next time you need my help."

If it were just about helping, he would've helped once or twice, but if it was going to be regular, he hated the thought. He wasn't going to work for anyone else!

"You aren't a slave...," Gabriel responded, understanding why the Infernal King was angry. If he were in its place, he would've been angry as well. "If you were a slave, why would I ask you to help? I would've just commanded you?"

"You are my first Summon. I don't want to have you as my slave. I want to have you as a friend and as a partner. Believe it or not, but you're the only one who I can trust in this entire world," he further explained.

Even though he was working with Eliana, he didn't trust her entirely either. He knew that in the world, anyone could betray anyone for their benefit. That's why he had prepared some things, in case she ever tried to betray him.

There was only one person who he could trust at this point, and it was the Infernal King since there was only the Infernal King who could never betray him.

Because of the Summoning Contract, the Infernal King couldn't attack him. He couldn't work with others to kill him as well. The contact placed a lot of restrictions on him, which made Gabriel feel safe with the Infernal King.

He started talking like a friend in a calm tone, but he knew that with a gentle tone, some authority was also needed.

"If I wanted to treat you like a slave, I could've just commanded you, and you would have no choice but to follow my commands because of the contract!"

"Still, I won't take away your free will. I will leave the decision to you. If you don't want to help me, I won't force you."

The Infernal King heard Gabriel. For some reason, he could feel that Gabriel actually was being genuine. He still remembered that when Gabriel had commanded him to stay in the room, no matter what he tried, he couldn't leave. So it wasn't a lie when Gabriel said that he could force him. Despite that, he was asking.

Gabriel took a deep breath. "If you don't want to help, stay behind. It might be hard, but I'll take care of things myself."

Gabriel held the Staff of Necromancy firmly.

He left the Shield of Undead for the Infernal King as he stepped out of the protection. He started running in toward the Headless Mage.

The Infernal King watched Gabriel advance ahead without any backup. Instead of forcing him, he was going alone.

The barrage of attacks that were coming to the Shield of Undead shifted to Gabriel, who dodged the attacks as much as he could. The attacks that he couldn't Dodge, he sliced with the Sword of Ulien, which not only cut the attacks in half but also absorbed some of the strength of the attacks.

The biggest problem was still the hidden formations on the ground, which he needed to avoid. He needed to focus on two sides simultaneously.

Boom~

A formation exploded right under Gabriel as soon as his foot landed on the ground. The energy explosion sent Gabriel flying. As soon as Gabriel sensed the explosion, he cast a shield of light around him, along with the Minor Healing. He landed on the ground, but as he was about to stand up, he saw another attack of the Headless Mage coming at him.

He rolled to the side, barely avoiding the attack, but another attack came. The attacks were just endless.

He kept rolling on the ground, avoiding the attacks. The attacks were enough to leave a crater on the ground.

As Gabriel avoided the attacks, he prepared to cast another Shield of Undead to get some time to stand up, but as he was about to cast a shield, a flaming shield appeared before him, protecting him from the coming attacks…

"These flames?" Gabriel frowned, seeing the Dark Flames. He looked behind where he left the Infernal King. The Infernal King wasn't in his place anymore.

The reason the Infernal King didn't want to help Gabriel was because he hated the thought of being someone else's slave, but seeing Gabriel fight all alone instead of forcing him... The Infernal King felt slightly different about Gabriel.

Instead of misusing his authority, Gabriel went to fight alone even if it was dangerous for him. Through his actions, Gabriel had managed to get at least some semblance of respect from the Infernal King.

He was called here to help Gabriel, and he decided to help him. The boy who was brave enough to fight all alone needed to be helped!

The Infernal King raised his right hand as he walked through the field that had started burning up.

The Headless Mage finally shifted his attention to the Infernal King from Gabriel. He started attacking the Infernal King with an energy sphere.

The Infernal King also fired a sphere of his dark flames, which clashed with the energy sphere of the Headless Mage.

Boom~

The clash of two attacks resulted in an explosion which sent a heavy pressured yet warm gust of wind everywhere. Despite the winds, neither the Infernal King nor the Headless Mage were pushed back.

The Headless Mage could continuously attack, never running out of magic. However, the Infernal King didn't have a low amount of spiritual strength either.

The Infernal King managed to match all the attacks of the Headless Mage as he kept getting closer with each passing second.

Explosions kept resounding throughout the field as the attacks kept clashing.

For some reason, the Infernal King could also avoid the Explosive Formations as all the formations exploded on their own before he even reached closer to them. It was like his flames were clearing his path of all obstructions in advance.

Within a few minutes, the Infernal King was only a few metres away from the Headless Mage who still didn't stop attacking.

The Infernal King's attacks only intensified now that he was closer to the Headless Mage.

Clap~

He joined both his hands together, deciding to end it now that he was close enough.

"Look! Gabriel also climbed up!"

Outside the Tower, the students were still going crazy at the sight of Gabriel moving one level up as well.

[90 Garrick Raini Light 94]

[91 Gabriel Light 94]

Gabriel had climbed up the ranks, once again reaching close to Garrick.

"They are both on the same floors now! It's crazy! The Two Mages are crazy! How can they reach that far? Just how strong are they? I can still understand Senior Garrick, but who is this Gabriel? I didn't even hear his name before! Why was such a talented mage hiding?!"

"Who knows man. I've asked everyone, but no one knows who this Gabriel is. People say that it's a Fourth Year Mage who is using a fake name to make sure no one recognizes him."

"Why? Why would someone use a fake name and reject all the glory that comes with this achievement?"

"Who knows? Maybe he doesn't want to be at the centre of attraction? That could also be the reason he didn't participate in the annual battle competitions."

"How do you know he didn't participate in it if you don't know his real identity?"

"I mean, isn't that common sense? If someone like that had participated, he would've given Senior Garrick a tough competition! But there was no one like that there. Whoever this person is, he stayed under the radar for over three years at the Academy. And even now, he uses a fake name."

"Man, I'm jealous. If I was in his place, I would've been bragging about my achievements, but this guy hides it. What an idiot!"

There were many students at the academy, and all had a different opinion about this Gabriel and none of them knew who it was which made others even more interested to see who it was.

Throughout the days, no one moved from before the Tower. Even the teachers stayed here, as they wanted to see this Gabriel when he came out.

For some reason, the students were also told to keep their distance from the tower. All the students kept at least a hundred metre distance from the tower. Fortunately, the top names were still easier to see even from a distance as they were much larger.

It was like the entire academy had halted.

"Impossible!" After one more hour, another wave of shock went through the crowd.

"How is this possible?"

"This can't be real!"

Garrick had reached the 94th floor before Gabriel, but surprisingly, Gabriel was the first person to reach the 95th floor!

Garrick was still on the 94th floor while Gabriel was already on the 95th floor. What was even more shocking was that it only took Gabriel one hour to clear the 95th floor.

[81 Gabriel Light 95]

"The Fck?" Even Yann cursed out loud. "Who the hell is this guy?"

His face was filled with jealousy and he wasn't the only one.

He looked at the back of his hand at the mark of flames. "Useless Element! The Element of Light is so strong. Both the Toppers have that element. I just had to get this useless Fire! If not, I could've been there as well!"

Even though he was jealous, he still wanted his brother to be higher than Gabriel. He didn't want his brother to lose the title of the strongest student of the Academy! This was about the reputation of his Raini Family now!

"Come on, brother! What are you doing?! Hurry up! Stop embarrassing the family!" He clenched his fist so tight that his veins were visible.

"Who is this guy...?" Cain was also in the crowd now, watching the ranking. Whoever this guy was, he probably wasn't part of any Great Family since those people would never use a fake name and lose a chance of showing off.

While Yann was supporting his brother, Cain wanted Gabriel to win since he hated the Raini Family! Even though Garrick was different, he was still part of the Raini Family. Cain didn't know who this Gabriel was, but he wanted the top student title to be snatched from the Raini Family!

Alexai also stood in the back, having his arms folded. He was also very curious about this person. Moreover, for some reason, he was also the first person who had noticed Gabriel's absence here.

He didn't know that the Gabriel who introduced himself as Karyk was the Gabriel whose identity everyone was curious about.

Alexai found it quite amusing that he hadn't seen Gabriel ever since he last helped him. The last he saw Gabriel, he was coming in the direction of this Tower as well, which made this absence really intriguing as well.

The race between Gabriel and Garrick was only intensifying and everyone had selected a side by now that they wanted to be on top

They were also very curious to see if one of the two could actually do the unthinkable and reach the 100th floor somehow. The chances of that were almost non-existent in everyone's mind.

No student was allowed to enter the Tower or even get close to it. Moreover, at that point, one two students were inside the Tower— Gabriel and Garrick.

Only the Head Council Members were standing within ten metres range of the tower, looking at the ranking as well. They all wanted Gabriel to come out as soon as possible.

While all the students wanted one of them to reach the 100th floor, for some reason, Eliana didn't want the person who reached there to be Gabriel. The higher Gabriel reached, the worst she felt since she was suspicious of him now.

Unfortunately, she couldn't stop him either. It all depended on Gabriel now.

p Only the old man was still inside the tower, and that too only to inform the Head Council if anyone came out. He stood right at the entrance, having a clear view of outside and inside the tower.

"He is out!" The old man exclaimed!

As soon as the Head Council Members heard the old man's call to them, they all rushed inside.

In the distance, the others saw the Head Council Members rush inside. Seeing their response, they believed that Gabriel was out. But even if that was true, just the fact that he could make the Head Council Members rush inside for him was enough to show just how influential he was going to be.

After coming to that conclusion, Yann sighed in relief. It seemed that it was as far as Gabriel was going to go. Now his brother just had to continue climbing, and he could retake the top position amongst the current students.

"As expected, he was rushing up too fast. He probably ran out of energy and had to leave. Unlike him, Garrick is taking a long time on each floor, which means he is reserving his energy." One of the Fourth year mages summarized the performance of Gabriel.

The Mark of Nature graced the back of his left hand. Looking at the ranking, he rubbed his chin, gazing at the name of Garrick.

"Garrick should be able to take over Gabriel as I had expected. Gabriel might be talented, but Garrick is more experienced. Still, it was a good display."

Aster was quite satisfied with this display of skills. "Maybe there will be six kings from now on in the Academy..."

He was a part of the House of Nature, but he was someone known throughout the academy. There were only a few people among the Fourth Year Students that enjoyed such popularity. In fact, there were only five such people.

The top five students of the Academy were known as the Five Kings. Amongst the five Kings, only Aster was the one who wasn't a part of any Great Family... He came from a small family, only rising this high based on his skills.

Amongst the five Kings, the first was without a doubt Garrick. He was the Representative of the House of Light and the strongest student at the academy who hadn't been defeated even once throughout the years.

The second King was known as Anid, who was the representative of the House of Lightning. Just like Garrick, Anid was also known for his strength. He was also the brother of Aira and a part of the Great Zoan Family.

He was also known as the second strongest student at the Academy of Elements, only under Garrick, which was a title he hated. He wanted to be considered the strongest!

He was also in the crowd, standing with Aira, watching the rankings. He was feeling quite angry. First, Garrick attacked his sister, and now he was going even higher inside the tower, increasing the distance between the two.

He also wanted to enter the Tower and start climbing, but even he wasn't allowed to enter for now. He could only watch from a distance.

The Third King was also a part of a Great Family... Possibly the greatest family in the Kingdom. The Third King was Mace Lumen, who was a part of the Royal Lumen Family. He was also the Second Prince, who was a representative of the House of Summoning and a fourth-year student as well.

Aster came fourth on the rankings of the King. Unlike the first three, Aster wasn't the strongest mage in the Academy, but he was considered to be the smartest and the wisest student at the academy. He didn't have high offensive power, but his intellectual skills made him an important person at the academy.

Aster was said to have the highest comprehension amongst the students when it came to spells.

In fact, amongst the Five Kings, only he was someone who was capable of creating a new spell by combining two existing spells, which was something so complicated that even great scholars couldn't achieve it easily. It was said that he was rarely wrong.

Unfortunately, this was one of the times where he was wrong, which he realized when he saw the High Council Members stepping out of the tower. They weren't accompanied by Gabriel!

There were shocked gasps everywhere as the students noticed that it wasn't Gabriel who had come out! Instead, it was Garrick who came out! That meant Gabriel was still inside the tower. The one who couldn't go any further wasn't Gabriel, but it was Garrick.

The Head Council Members seemed quite disappointed as well since it wasn't Gabriel who came out even now.

Aster stared at Gabriel's name on the top. "I was wrong? Garrick came out before him? How?"

At the current rankings, Gabriel was ranked 81st, and he was on the 95th Floor, while Garrick's journey ended there for now. He had managed to improve his floor level by one.

He was quite pleased with his growth when he came out, only to find the Head Council Members who seemed disappointed to see him for some reason.

He also heard Eliana scold the old man for raising a false alarm. She told the man to only inform them if Karyk came out. She had already started addressing Gabriel as Karyk openly now.

The old man apologized and watched the Head Council Members leave.

"Karyk?"

Eliana's words were still floating in Garrick's head. From her words, it was clear that they weren't here for him, but for the person he knew as Karyk. But why? Something seemed really strange to him.

The Tower was also looking very empty for some reason.

As he stepped out of the tower, he saw a huge crowd in the distance. Half of them were looking at him, shocked, while the other half was looking at the top of the tower.

'Just what is happening here?' He wondered as he also looked up.

"Garrick, you can leave and rest. You did good work." Eliana told Garrick to leave and not stay here. He had to follow the same rules as everyone.

Usually, she would've been quite happy that Garrick improved his tank even more, but at the moment, her mind was only overwhelmed by Gabriel.

Confused, Garrick agreed. He was sure that something was wrong here. Instead of asking the Head Council Members, who seemed busy, he decided to ask the others.

He walked to the crowd instead of going to his dorms. In the crowd, he also noticed his brother, but instead of going to his brother, he went to Aster. If there was one person who could explain everything to him, it was Aster.

"What is happening here?" Garrick stopped before Aster and pointed out all the weird behavior that everyone was showing. "Also, what's this about Karyk?"

"I don't know about Karyk, but all this commotion is because of Gabriel," Aster responded. "Honestly, it was quite surprising for me as well. I really thought that you would go farther than him."

"Gabriel?" Garrick still didn't understand. Eliana was talking about Karyk, and this guy was talking about Gabriel? Was there a misunderstanding outside?

Aster pointed toward the tower. "Look at nine ranks above you. That's what the entire commotion is about..."

For him, it was easier to just show Garrick than to tell him everything since he knew that Garrick was smart enough to understand the rest just based on the rankings.

Garrick turned to the tower and looked above his name. Within a few seconds, he managed to locate a name that even he hadn't seen before. "Hmm? That's strange. I'm sure this name wasn't on the tower before. Was it?"

"That's right. It wasn't there before. It's a new name that appeared just recently. Someone started climbing the tower, and whoever that person is, they are using a fake name to climb, which is pretty interesting honestly," Aster explained briefly.

"So far, that person has already overtaken you in the ranking, and I'm not sure how far that person can go at this point. It doesn't look like he's about to stop anytime soon though."

"Something like this has never happened before, and that's why everyone is here, to see just who this person is when he comes out. I think even the Head Council is here to find out who that person is," he added. "The entire academy has come to a halt, just for that one person."

"I don't think they need to find out... They already know who it is..." Garrick muttered. "Now it made perfect sense why everyone was disappointed to see that it was I who came out. They are waiting for him."

Finally, it made sense to him why Eliana wanted to be informed when Karyk came out. If it was Karyk inside the tower according to Eliana, then it was most probably true. The person who was using the fake name was Karyk!

"But how? A first-year mage... 95th floor?"

Just as he finished his statements; to his shock, the rankings changed once again as Gabriel's name climbed even higher.

[69 Gabriel Light 96]

Gabriel was still going just as fast, moving closer to the top floor!

Gabriel called the Infernal King to help him, but the Infernal King refused. Instead of wasting even more spiritual strength to force the Infernal King, Gabriel went to fight alone, using subtle manipulation as well to influence the Infernal King subconsciously.

Fortunately, his plan succeeded as the Infernal King came to help him against the Headless Mage.

It was the first time that Gabriel saw the Infernal King fight, and it was l overwhelming. The attacks of the Infernal King were strong, but his defense was just as good. What was even more interesting was that his flames seemed to have a life of their own.

Moreover, Gabriel was also able to sense that the Infernal King's flames often changed colors along with their properties. The angrier he was, the darker his flames became.

Even the Headless Mage wasn't able to stop the Infernal King once he decided to help Gabriel. The Infernal King destroyed the Headless Mage, helping Gabriel.

As the Infernal King was summoned by Gabriel, it counted as his success as well. The door opened, allowing them to go to the next floor.

After killing the Headless Mage, the Infernal King walked back to Gabriel, who was still on the ground.

Gabriel stood up. "Thank you."

"One week..." The Infernal King let out a few words.

"What?" Gabriel looked confused. 'What one week?"

"I will help you clear this tower, but after that, you won't call me here for one week!" The Infernal King declared.

Now that he was here, he decided to help Gabriel once more, but he didn't want to come here every other day. He had his own business in the Realm of the Dead as well. For that, he decided to set a rule that if he helped Gabriel here, he was going to get one week unconditionally.

"One week it is." After a brief consideration, Gabriel agreed.

He accepted the request of the Infernal King as it was only one week. What was the worst that could happen in a week that didn't happen until now? Moreover, after that one week, he was again going to be able to call the Infernal King, and in that case, the Infernal King was going to be even more determined to his cause.

And thus, an unlikely deal was established with the Infernal King.

After confirming the deal, the Infernal King didn't speak much.

Gabriel took the lead, casting a purification spell on his clothes once again to rid him of all the blood. He also cast another Minor Heal at the same time.

After preparing everything, he went to the entrance of the next floor.

Gabriel and the Infernal King started climbing the tower together. The next few battles were even more intense than the ones with the Headless Mage, but fortunately, they weren't much disadvantageous to Gabriel. He was able to stand firm on his ground and fight back.

On the 95th floor, Gabriel didn't even need the help of the Infernal King.

The Infernal King was more like a spectator, just appreciating the skills of Gabriel. If Gabriel's courage had made him respect him before, his fighting skills impressed him even more, especially the way he used his Darker Element.

The Infernal King stood with his arms folded, watching Gabriel kill the enemies using his Soul Explosion and his Sword of Ulien.

The more spells Gabriel used, the more proficient he became in them. The Tower of Challenges was less of a challenge and more of a training ground for him which helped him master his skills and improve them.

Moreover, fighting with the Sword of Ulien, his physical fighting skills were also improving much. He was able to utilize his strength and speed boost much more, finding the styles that fit him.

Gabriel took care of most of the enemies all alone. The Infernal King only had to interfere once or twice to provide backup to Gabriel.

After fighting for three straight hours, the two tested for a little on the 97th floor. The door to the 98th floor was already open, but Gabriel didn't go there yet.

He was really tired after a long battle and needed to gather his breath.

Contrary to the constant phase of shock and intensifying chatter outside the tower, there was only silence here.

Fortunately for him, the tower also seemed impressed at his performance and provided him with more food and water.

Gabriel gazed at the food before him. "The Tower really doesn't discriminate between elements, unlike the outside world."

Even though he had an element similar to the element of Darkness, the Tower didn't force him out. Instead, the tower was being quite fair by allowing him to rest. There was no bias here.

"Do you eat as well?" he asked the Infernal King. He didn't know if the Infernal King ate anything or not since he was supposed to be dead. He preferred to ask directly.

The Infernal King shook his head. He was someone who never felt hungry. His body didn't need strength from food. On the contrary, his food was something else.

Only when he burned someone to ashes was he able to feel full as even if he didn't want it; the strength and energy of the ones he burned were automatically absorbed by his body, making him even stronger in the process.

That's why he was able to become this strong. That's also why he was able to fight for so long without getting tired. His energy reserves were huge.

After getting his answer, Gabriel didn't force the Infernal King. He simply started eating.

After half an hour, Gabriel finally stood up and did some stretching.

"Only three more floors."

He walked to the entrance of the next floor. He had already cleared 97 floors, leaving only three floors between him and clearing the tower.

Gabriel stepped onto the next floor with the Infernal King.

Outside the tower, his rank changed once again.

[11 Gabriel Light 98]

He was only one step away from entering the top ten.

Seeing his ranking climb more, even more, people started thinking that Gabriel was actually aiming for the top floor. They didn't want to believe it, but at this point, it was looking quite possible.

Was this Mysterious Person really going to enter the top floor?

For the next five hours, Gabriel's rank was stale, not going up even a little. It was as if Gabriel was having a really hard time on the 98th floor.

"Is that his limit?" Aster wondered, but he couldn't come to any conclusion that Gabriel was actually out.

He was someone who was rarely wrong, but only when it came to Gabriel, he was proven wrong again and again. That's why he didn't come to a conclusion right now.

Two more hours passed, and Gabriel's ranking finally moved to everyone's surprise.

[7 Gabriel Light 99]

"This... Impossible? He is on the 99th floor!"

There was great shock and excitement among the students, but the Head Council Members were really grim.

The ninety-ninth floor was the highest floor that had been reached ever since the Academy was created. Only a handful of people had managed to reach the floor, and none of them had been able to clear the floor.

Just like the hundredth floor was a core of everyone's fascination, the ninety-ninth Floor was also one which raised everyone's curiosity. Even the Academy didn't know what was on the ninety-ninth floor as whoever came out of that floor never really talked about it for some reason.

Only six people had managed to reach the 99th floor before Gabriel, and only one of the six had managed to do it in the last 100 years. As for the last person to reach the 99th floor, he was none other than the current Dean at the Academy of Elements... Izen Aalec.

With Gabriel's arrival on the tower, the top ten rankings had changed once again.

[1 Axion Light 99]

[2 Qin Elisi Darkness 99]

[3 Izen Aalec Light 99]

[4 Yale Lumen Light 99]

[5 Lia Cien Water 99]

[6 Jax Lumen Lightning 99]

[7 Gabriel Light 99]

[8 Orien Zoan Light 98]

[9 Aileen Drixi Nature 98]

[10 Ior Diadys Darkness 98]

As soon as Gabriel stepped on the 99th floor, he had made his name immortal in the history of the Academy of Elements. Now he stood at the place where all the greatest stood once upon a time. No one could remove his name from the tower even if they wanted, but Gabriel didn't care about his rankings.

He was just a few steps away from the final floor to reveal the mystery of that floor. He was more excited about that at the moment.

Gabriel and the Infernal Emperor came out of the entrance of the 99th floor, expecting to see another battlefield and a fight, but what they were greeted with were claps for some reason.

From the clapping, it was evident that there weren't too many people here who were clapping. In fact, there seemed to be only two people if one was to guess. Unfortunately, it was impossible to see those two.

The entire surrounding was so dark that it was literally impossible to see anything, even for Gabriel. Just to be safe, Gabriel cast the shield of Undead as a precaution.

The Infernal Emperor raised his right hand. A bright fire lit up in his hands which acted like a torch, brightening up the surroundings.

Thanks to the light of the fire, Gabriel was finally able to see the surroundings.

It wasn't a battlefield. At least not a conventional one. They seemed to be in a majestic hall that seemed like the Royal Throne Room of a King.

At the end of the hall, he saw two big thrones. Two men were sitting on those thrones, and they were also the ones who were clapping.

Those two men weren't alone here either.

There were six more thrones, three on each side of the hall. The only difference was that those three thrones were much smaller.

Unlike the men on the bigger throne, the ones who were sitting on the smaller thrones weren't clapping. They were just gazing at Gabriel with a slightly curious look on their faces.

"Congratulations, young man," One of the two men on the throne spoke. "Congratulations on being able to reach this place."

The man who had spoken was dressed in all black. However, contrary to his clothes, his Element was that of Light.

The Dark Haired Man appeared to be a Mage of Light and not a weaker one. In fact, his aura was way stronger than the aura of any Teacher he had seen at the Academy of Element.

His aura was somewhat comparable to Elora, but there was something different about him. It was only comparable to Elora's aura in terms of strength and intensity; however, it didn't have any semblance of the aura received from a Grimoire. His aura was pure but not that of a Holy Book.

In other words, the man seemed to be as strong as the Holy Priestess of the Church of Light, Elora, without being a Holy Priest.

The red-haired man who sat on the other throne wasn't much different either. He had a similarly strong aura. The second man had long hair like the first man, but his hair was a lot messier than the first man's hair, which was more proper.

Another important difference was that the second man had a mark of Darkness on the back of his hand. Seeing a Mage of Light and a Mage of Darkness sitting right beside each other with such comfort was quite rare.

"You can speak?" Gabriel asked. So far, the enemies he faced in the tower, none was able to speak. In fact, it was the first time he saw an enemy who could speak here.

"Cylix isn't the only one who can speak here. All of us can speak," the red-haired man also lazily chimed in. "Don't be that surprised over such a small thing."

"Hahahaha, Novius, you should be nicer to our guests here. It had been a long time since a guest came here last." The dark-haired man addressed as Cylix laughed light-heartedly before shifting his attention to Gabriel.

Even as he was laughing, his eyes were showing a great fascination as his eyes were more focused on Gabriel's right hand. "Though I must say, your Mark is quite fascinating..."

Gabriel saw where Cylix was looking, slightly surprised. He was still wearing the gloves on each of his hands. How was he able to see his mark?

"How can you see my mark? What is this place?" Gabriel asked directly. "And who are you all? What is my challenge to get to the next floor?"

Since these were intelligent beings before him who didn't attack him directly, he believed the challenge here wasn't to fight most probably. Still, he had to be sure before he lowered his defenses. He didn't want to make the same mistake as he did on the 25th floor.

"That's a lot of questions, Young Man," Novius chimed in. "Though the answers to all those questions are easy, especially your very first question."

"We can see your mark because your Numens are useless before us on his floor," he explained. "He can see through the gloves of yours. Not only are your gloves useless here, but also the Ring of Disguise."

"As for your second question, don't you already know what this place is?" Cylix took the lead, seemingly quite amused for some reason. "This is the ninety-ninth floor. As for who we are..."

Cylix's fingers combed through his hair as he smiled. "I am Cylix, and he is Novius."

'Cylix and Novius? The Founders of the Academy of Elements?' As soon as Gabriel heard the name, his mind clicked, and he remembered where he had heard the names before!

He also remembered that one of the two Founders had the element of Light, and the other had the Element of Darkness, just like the two before him! So these two... They were the Ancient Founders? They were still alive?

"As for your challenge, it's simple." Cylix observed Gabriel's expressions as he continued, "Kill the two of us, and you can go to the final floor!"

Gabriel had expected thousands of possibilities for his challenge on this floor, but this one even he couldn't have imagined! The Challenge here was to kill the Founders of the Academy, who were said to be as strong as the Holy Priests? The ones who were said to be one of the most knowledgeable mages of their time?

If that was the challenge, he finally understood why no one could clear this floor! This floor was essentially impossible to clear!

As Gabriel heard about the challenge of this floor, he was quite shocked. If the stories he heard about the two founders of the Academy were true, then the difficulty of this Floor was many times more than the last floor.

Moreover, he didn't doubt those stories either, as the sheer strength of their aura was enough of an evidence to show just how strong they actually were.

Even with the help of the Infernal King, he knew it was still an uphill climb, especially if there were two of them.

With this kind of challenge, which young mage could clear this floor? It was impossible! Heck, even a Holy Priest at their peak would have a hard time defeating the two founders.

"Is that really the challenge?" Gabriel asked, just to be sure. "I need to kill the two of you?"

"That's right." Cylix nodded. "That's the challenge, but before we give you an opportunity to fight us, you'll need to prove that you're indeed worthy of our time!"

"So my challenge is to kill you, but before I do that, I need to prove that I'm worthy of killing you?" Gabriel weirdly looked at the two men.

What nonsense was this? First, the challenge itself was almost impossible, and now he needed to prove that he was worthy of even taking part in the challenge.

"I managed to reach this floor. That alone should prove that I'm worthy to face the challenge of this floor."

Even though the challenge was hard, he wasn't going to go back after coming this far. Even if he had to face these two, he wanted to give it a try.

"Yes, you came to this floor, but you aren't the only one who achieved that. There have been people before you, and sooner or later, there will be more after you. Just you being able to reach here doesn't prove that you can last before us, even with your peculiar element."

" In fact, as we can see, on a personal level, you are even weaker than the ones who came before you. You have the talent and the spiritual strength, but still, something is lacking in you for now. If I'm not wrong, you wouldn't be able to reach here if it wasn't for your Summoned Creature..." Cylix gave his observation, glancing at the Infernal King.

"If anything, I'm more interested in your Summon than you when it comes to strength," he further stated.

Novius agreed. "The choice is yours now. You can either take our suggestion or leave this floor and go back."

"What if we say no?" Gabriel stated with great calm, even for a situation like this. "You want us to prove ourselves before you allow us to fight you? Who says you have the right to allow anything?"

"If the goal here is to kill you, why shouldn't we just attack you directly?" he asked as he called out his Ancestral Staff of Necromancy.

"Even though I like your attitude, but what you're thinking isn't possible." Novius let out a sigh. "Even hour attacks won't work in this hall. Moreover, even if you tried attacking us, the attacks can't hit us. Until we take you to a proper battlefield for our battle, our battle can't begin. This hall isn't a battleground, and it's not supposed to be one."

"Still, if that makes you feel better, you can try attacking us and test the theory."

Even though Gabriel didn't attack right away, Infernal King took action to test this theory. He tossed a ball of deep blue flames at Novius.

Novius only smiled. He didn't even try to dodge as he watched the ball of flames come toward him.

Surprisingly, the ball of flames passed through them as if their bodies were nothing more than an illusion.

"Happy?" Cylix asked. "If you want, you can test on me as well. We have no reason to lie to you. As we said before, until we accept your challenge, our battle can't begin. In other words, if you want to fight us, you need to prove yourself."

"How can I prove myself?" Gabriel asked. If there was no other way, then so be it. If he needed to prove himself, he was going to do it! And then, he was going to kill these two to get to the final floor!"

"It's quite simple. There are six more people in this hall. You can select any two of them. You need to defeat both of them in a battle," Cylix explained briefly. "Generally, we would've asked you to defeat only one, but since your summon is so special, we are increasing some difficulty for you."

Gabriel noticed the six youngsters around him. Until now, he wasn't sure as to who these six people were, and he needed to select two of them for a battle.

Seeing Gabriel looking at the six people around him in confusion, Cylix couldn't help but laugh. He could understand what Gabriel was thinking about. "We will make it a little easier for you to select as well. Don't worry. I'll introduce your six options..."

"The six that you see around you... they are the challengers who had managed to reach this floor before you," Cylix explained, shocking Gabriel even more.

Six people who came here before him? Did that mean they were the six who were at the top of the tower rankings? The strongest Mages in the history of the Academy of Elements?

Cylix casually pointed toward the first man. "He is Axion, the first challenger to come here."

"Axion... The person who was the Head of the Church of Light and led the war against the Church of Darkness, destroying them..." Gabriel muttered, remembering the name. He had heard about Axion a lot in the Academy and what he grew up to be.

The young man that was pointed at looked like he was in his early twenties at the moment. He was a blonde man who appeared to have a Princely charm on his face. No one could link that scholarly face with someone who had killed thousands of Dark Mages and destroyed the Church of Darkness!

While Gabriel was lost in thoughts, observing Axion, Cylix shifted his attention to the next person.

"The man beside him is Izen..."

Gabriel shifted his attention to the next man as well, noticing a young man who looked to be barely twenty years old.

He remembered hearing that name as well. Izen Aalec... The man who went on to become the Dean of the Academy of Element! He was also the current Dean and a big name in the outside world!

Izen had the most peculiar look out of all. His hair was a mix of black and white, the left side being black and the right side being white. As Gabriel observed Izen, he was also observing Gabriel with his beautiful crimson eyes.

"He is the third strongest person to reach here," Cylix stated before shifting to the next person. "And the girl next to him is Lia, the fifth strongest person to arrive here."

Next to Izen, there was a beautiful blue-haired girl, who seemed to be the oldest person amongst the six who were sitting on the smaller thrones.

Hearing the names, Gabriel was sure that he had seen her name at the top of the Tower Rankings as well. He just didn't hear much about her, unlike the others. If he had to select any two, Lia seemed like a better option than the other two. However, he had second thoughts.

He had an opportunity to face the strongest young mages of their time. Could he really go for an easier option?

Gabriel didn't wait for more explanation. He had already guessed who the others were based on this order...

'That meant the person on the right is... Qin Elisi, who was studying in the academy right around the time Axion waged a war on the Church of Darkness.'

Gabriel glanced at the man on the right, who had long black hair and deep crimson eyes. He was most intrigued by Qin. It wasn't only because Qin had the same last name as Lira.

Even though he somehow being related to Lira intrigued him, but most importantly, it was because of Qin's story, which Gabriel could relate to.

Qin had to run away from the academy at the start of the fourth year to survive. He was never heard from again. He was also considered to be the most talented out of the top six rankers, as he was the only person who managed to reach the 99th floor before he even entered his fourth year at the academy.

Qin was also the only person amongst the six who had an element of darkness. Despite him being ranked two at the Tower rankings, for some reason, he seemed to be stronger than rank one Axion, who went on to become the Head of Church of Light.

Next to Qin there was Yale Lumen, who was ranked four on the tower. During his studies, Yale was the Crown Prince of the Lumen Empire.

He was also the first person from the Royal family who was able to reach the ninety-ninth floor. Just like Axion, Lumen also shared the element of Light.

After leaving the Academy, he went on to become the King of the Lumen Empire.

Next to Yale, there was another person, known as Jax Lumen, who was ranked sixth in the tower ranking. Similar to Yale, Jax was also from the Lumen Family. However, there were almost three decades of difference between the time of Yale being at the academy if compared with his time.

Jax was a descendant of Yale. However, contrary to Yale, Jax had the element of Lightning. While Yale had a slender body, Jax had a bulky body, despite being around the same age.

Seeing the six here, Gabriel had realized that these weren't real people. There was no way that Yale and Jax were going to be of the same age. Moreover, it was impossible for the others to still be alive.

It made Gabriel sure that these people were also created by the tower, most probably in projection of the real people who fought here.

"You aren't real Cylix and Novius, are you?" he asked the two on the throne. "The reason our attacks can't hit you is because you don't exist at all..."

"Well, your statement is partially true, but also partially wrong. Firstly, we are real. But not quite real at the same time," Cylix retorted.

p He further explained. "When we passed onto the next floor, we were asked to leave a fragment of our consciousness behind."

"In other words, we share the same consciousness as our real selves and know everything that they knew... At least up to the point before they separated the consciousness which created us."

"The consciousness of the real... when they were on this floor... So that's what it was. That's why everyone here looks the same age as they were when they entered the tower. That's why you can speak and interact with me like you're real people!"

This piece of information changed the entire equation for Gabriel, giving him some relief. It meant that they were a Mirage of their young self!

If that was the case, that meant their knowledge and skills were still incomplete! He was going to be facing younger Novius and Cylix, who didn't have any memories of what happened after they left the tower and the great skills that they learned and created.

That also meant Axion didn't know any skills of the Holy Grimoire of Light since he was going to get the Grimoire after he left the tower and received it, along with the incredible skills!

That did reduce the difficulty of this trial to some extent, but not by much. Even though everyone here wasn't even close to possessing the same impossible strength that they possessed later in their lives, it still didn't make them weak.

Even though it was their weaker self, it was still the ones that managed to climb this high!

Amongst the six, if Gabriel wanted to challenge himself and not waste this opportunity, he knew he needed to select Axion and Qin so he could compare himself and learn from them, but it wasn't an easy decision for him at all.

Even though selecting a more formidable opponent was better for him to challenge himself since he could face the best mage of light amongst the six and the best mage of darkness, but it also came with many disadvantages.

The worst cost that he could see for choosing a stronger opponent was the consumption of strength! If he fought Axion and Qin, he was going to exhaust himself, which wasn't good for his next battle, especially if his main opponents were Cylix and Novius.

Unlike the six who were young students who entered the tower, Cylix and Novius were already established mages, despite being so young, when they entered the tower.

Moreover, as none of the six reached the next floor, it was even more of an evidence of the difficulty of facing them. Gabriel wanted to have as much strength as he could when he went into his main battle.

If he selected the two weakest here, he could go to the final battle with the two founders without running out of all his strength. However, that was something akin to wasting an opportunity for him.

At the present time, both Axion and Qin were dead. If he missed this opportunity now, he was never going to get it again. But was it really worth it?

Even though Gabriel had already guessed the other three's identities, Cylix still introduced them.

"Now that you know your options, we would need your answer. You can select any two of them, or you can leave this tower. We won't blame you."

Cylix's finger kept tapping his throne as he waited for Gabriel's response, who looked like he was lost in deep thought.

"You know, there's nothing embarrassing about leaving. If you're having second thoughts, you can return the way you came. It'll just mean you were never worthy of reaching here. Then again, you can always return when you're ready. Not like we'll be going anywhere," Cylix chimed in again after waiting for an answer for five minutes.

Novius was also somewhat disappointed. If Gabriel was hesitating this much in selecting two youngsters to fight him, could he really place any challenge before them?

He closed his eyes, feeling a bit lazy, as if this was boring. "The younger generation is getting worse... They even have to think so much between fighting and running."

In his mind, what Gabriel was thinking about was if he should select Lia and Jax or if he should leave. Novius didn't even consider the possibility of anything else. He didn't know that it wasn't the choice that Gabriel was thinking about.

The thought of leaving didn't even cross his mind. He was thinking if he should select Axion and Qin or not.

After taking some more time, Gabriel finally made up his mind. He wasn't going to lose this opportunity! He was here, and he wasn't going to be scared! He was going to fight the strongest available option and see just what they were truly capable of! If anything, he could learn their fighting styles to improve his own!

"I've made up my mind!" Gabriel declared. "I select Axion and Qin."

"Hmm?" Novius opened his eyes.

"Who did you select?" Novius asked, wondering if he had misheard Gabriel. He really hadn't expected Gabriel to select the two strongest challengers out of the six. ",

Novius had fought Axion and Qin personally when the two had arrived here. He knew just how strong those two were compared to the others. If anything, Gabriel should've selected the weakest out of the six.

"I said I will select Axion and Qin," Gabriel repeated. "You wanted me to select one, and I selected them."

"Young man, I think you didn't hear me clearly when I introduced all of them." Cylix was also somewhat surprised. Even though he had noticed Gabriel looking at Axion and Qin repeatedly before, he hadn't thought that it was because he was seriously considering them as opponents.

"It's either that, or you're really not thinking straight. The two you've selected... They are stronger than you think. With them as your opponent, you should just forget about being able to reach us."

It had been a really long time since there was a challenger here. The last person to get here was Izen, and that too was decades ago. Cylix really wanted to fight Gabriel as well since he didn't know when the next person was going to get here.

Even though he asked Gabriel to prove himself, that didn't mean he wanted him to select the toughest opponents and let go of any possibility of getting through to them. To Cylix, it looked as if Gabriel was closing the doors of opportunity.

"You still have time. Think again and think cleverly. Don't be hasty," he reminded Gabriel as if seriously signaling them that Qin and Axion were beyond his league.

"I don't need to think." Gabriel clenched his fists. "I've made up my mind. I've come all this way, not to take the easy way out. If I'm here, I want to fight the best of the best as that's the only thing which can improve my skills and make me stronger!"

"If I can't even face the younger selves of the legends in the outside world, how can I face my real enemies, who will have decades of experience and much more Knowledge than me?"

The people here were the strongest Mages under the age of thirty, but that was just for the tower. The real world wasn't going to have any limitations that the enemies needed to be under thirty. In fact, his real enemies were the Churches, which had mages much older with much more knowledge than the youngsters here could possess.

The Izen here was one of the strongest students of his time, but he didn't even have a fraction of the strength that the current Izen had in the real world. The Izen here was younger than thirty, but the Izen outside was supposed to be a mage who had decades of experience and a strength, almost rivaling the Heads of the Churches, without any Holy Grimoire.

If he couldn't even fight people like Izen here, how could he fight the real Izen outside in case he came like an enemy? If he was scared now, could he really reach the level he wanted to reach? If he couldn't even defeat some youngsters, could he really bring all the Churches to their knees to create the world anew the way he wanted?

He wanted to fight Axion and Qin. He wanted to fight the person who was selected by the Holy Grimoire of Light in the future! He wanted to fight one of the most talented mages of Darkness!

Seeing the determination in Gabriel's eyes, Novius could see that he didn't select these two names because he was an idiot. He also didn't select these two because he was arrogant. Instead, he wanted to challenge himself. He knew how risky it was as the access to the hundredth floor was on the line, which many people dreamt of reaching.

Even after coming this close to the hundredth floor, Gabriel didn't let greed overwhelm him. It didn't even look like he was thinking about the hundredth Floor. He was instead thinking about making himself stronger through this opportunity.

This determination of Gabriel actually impressed Novius, and he finally started taking some interest in Novius. Even Cylix was somewhat impressed.

Both Cylix and Novius gazed at each other, nodding.

"Alright. We accept your selection," Cylix told Gabriel. "You will receive the opponents that you have selected. Qin and Axion will be your opponents."

He stood up. Novius also stood up. Since he was finally taking an interest in Gabriel now, he didn't look bored and sleepy anymore. Instead, he was curious to see if Gabriel could actually pull this off successfully, the chances of which were too low.

Cylix gracefully raised his hands and clapped once. As soon as he clapped, the mark of light on his left hand shone. The entire hall was filled with bright light, which even forced Gabriel to close his eyes.

Gabriel also felt a change after the light appeared. Even though he hadn't opened his eyes, he could feel that his surroundings had changed.

The hall where they were previously was much colder, but the surroundings were warmer now. He could also feel warm winds brushing against his skin as if he was out in the open.

He also felt like he wasn't standing on the hard floor like before. Instead, he was on something quite different. It was like he was standing on sand now.

After the bright flash of light disappeared, Gabriel opened his eyes, realizing he was right. Instead of being in the closed space, they were now in the vast open desert.

As far as the eyes could see, there was nothing but sand. The sky was clear, not having any clouds. Bright sun could clearly be seen in the sky.

There were only three people other than him here. Cylix and Novius stood in the distance, both with hands behind their backs. As for the third person, it was Axion.

He couldn't see Qin anywhere for some reason.

"You won't find Qin here. He will be waiting for you on your second battlefield," Cylix informed Gabriel as if he was able to guess what he was thinking.

"Next battlefield? That means I will just be fighting Axion here?" Gabriel asked. He had expected that he would be fighting both at the same time based on the words that Cylix had used before.

"That's right. You will be fighting Axion only first, and then you'll be fighting Qin. You won't be fighting both at the same time," Cylix answered.

"Initially, we wanted to have you fight two opponents at the same time, but that was when we expected you to select the weakest two." Novius further explained.

"You've surpassed our expectations, so we had to change the rules a little. Having you fight both Qin and Axion at the same time would be too unfair for you, even with your Summon present. That's why you'll be fighting them one at a time, your first opponent being Axion."

Gabriel was informed that he was going to be fighting Axion first, and it was going to be a one-on-one battle. That did make the battle a bit easier for him since he only had to focus on one enemy, but when that one enemy was the future Head of the Church of Light, that much advantage didn't mean much.

"One more thing..." Cylix said, bringing Gabriel's attention back to him. "The battle will last until you defeat the opponent or you are defeated."

"If you want, you can give up on the battle in the middle by just saying the words. We will stop the battle. And I would suggest you don't ignore that advice. Instead of being seriously hurt or even dying, it's better to give up at the right time. That way, you can save some energy for the next battle."

"Next battle?" Gabriel didn't understand what they meant by the next battle. If he gave up, didn't that mean he lost the battle? Why would there be a subsequent battle in that case?

"Yeah, next battle. After this battle, don't you have to fight Qin? To be able to fight us, you need to win at least one of your two battles. So even if you lost the first battle, you could have a second chance with Qin," Novius explained.

"Is it the same with you? I need to defeat one of you as well?" If that was the pattern, that meant he could get an extra chance with his final battles as well.

That did change the equation since it meant that he needed to make a long-term plan on how much of his strength he wanted to reserve for the coming battles.

p "Hah, if only you were that lucky," Cylix chuckled. "You'll be fighting both of us at the same time, and we won't go easy. And you need to defeat the both of us to be able to go to the next floor."

"Anyway, that is enough of an explanation. We won't keep your opponent waiting. You two can start the battle after we are gone."

Cylix and Novius disappeared into thin air after telling Gabriel everything he needed to know.

The two returned back to the Throne Room, where they were initially seated.

The two sat back on their thrones, getting comfortable. At the same time, the Tower created something akin to a portal that was showing Gabriel's battlefield in the middle of the hall, showing the two contenders.

"What do you think? Can he succeed?" Cylix asked, resting one leg above the other as he moved back a bit.

"I don't know at this point," Novius responded. "At the start, when I saw him, I thought he was just a weak mage who managed to get here thanks to his Summon and his peculiar Element, but maybe there's more to him..."

"I agree." Cylix agreed with his friend. "His Talent and Spiritual Strength is quite strong... Possibly the strongest I've ever come across, but his magical strength doesn't hold up to the same mark at this point. I guess he is just too young at this point."

"He needs more time to grow to his full potential," he further stated. "That's why I told him to leave and take some time before coming back again. But he... He seems quite determined. And I must say, it's the ones with an undefeatable determination that are often able to pull off the miracles. So he might actually surprise us."

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The entire hall was so silent. Only the words of Cylix and Novius could be heard as they discussed things amongst themselves. An opportunity like this came after a long time, after all.

"I really hope so... I really want to be free of this godforsaken place." Novius sighed. "I hope he is able to pull off the miracle somehow and defeat us..."

Even though the two looked like they were too strict on Gabriel, in reality, they were also rooting for Gabriel. They wanted him to succeed, no matter how unlikely it was for him to.

Cylix and Novius were known to the world to be the first people who found this Tower, with only a rare few knowing the reality.

They also entered the tower after finding it. Moreover, on the ninety-ninth floor, they also faced something similar to what Gabriel was facing now.

When the two of them reached the ninety-ninth floor, they were also faced with two Guardians of this floor. To get to the next floor, they had to defeat the Two Guardians of this Floor.

The Two Guardians were none other than the last two people who had cleared this floor before Cylix and Novius. They had also left behind a fraction of their conscience and knowledge.

As Cylix and Novius were both in different realms inside the Tower, each of them had to fight both the Guardians. Moreover, surprisingly they both managed to defeat the two Guardians before them, finally clearing this floor!

After Cylix and Novius defeated the two Guardians, they were given an opportunity by the Tower to leave behind their conscience and take over the Guardian position for the next generation.

At the time, Cylix and Novius didn't think much about it and accepted it before going to the next floor, making two new Guardians in their image with their memories and knowledge, thinking it was good.

Ever since then, a new version of theirs was created, which had all their memories and personality up to that period in time.

While real Cylix and Novius roamed freely in the outside world after leaving this tower and ultimately embraced their deaths, these two were trapped here for an eternity, waiting for someone who was going to defeat them and take their place so they could also be free of these shackles.

After over a hundred years, they were still waiting for the people who could defeat them next. Unfortunately, even though there were challengers who did manage to reach this floor, none of them were able to defeat them.

Moreover, Cylix and Novius had great self-respect, which didn't allow them to lose intentionally either. They had to fight properly if it was a battle.

They really hoped that Gabriel could defeat them and take their place here with the Infernal King. However, first, he needed to defeat his initial challengers to prove if he even had enough strength for them to get their hopes up.

The two looked at the battlefield from the throne room, really curious to see how the battle was going to unfold. So far, they had some positive opinions of Gabriel, but only in the battle were they going to see if this guy actually had a chance as they hadn't seen him fight before.

Gabriel couldn't see Cylix and Novius anywhere, but he was sure that they were still seeing him.

"You can stand back," he told the Infernal King. "I'll be fighting him myself."

Just like in the previous trials, Gabriel told the Infernal King to stand back since he only wanted the Infernal King's help when it was absolutely necessary.

By now, the Infernal King had also become accustomed to it. He just stepped back, giving some room to Gabriel.

Initially, when he was called by Gabriel, he wanted to go back to his world as soon as possible, but after coming this far, he actually wanted to finish it and see just what was on the final floor.

Gabriel also took off his gloves and kept them in his pockets, revealing both his Elemental Marks. As the gloves were already useless on this floor before these Projections, he didn't feel the need to use them for now. He also felt freer without them.

He didn't know why, but he was feeling really excited about the battles he was going to go through instead of feeling nervous. It was as if he was filled with battle intent.

He had already seen Garrick fighting outside. Since Axion managed to get here, that meant he was definitely way stronger than Garrick of his time. As both of them were Mages of Light, for Gabriel, this battle was like fighting a stronger version of Garrick.

Axion hadn't spoken anything. He just stood in the distance as if waiting for Gabriel to be ready. However, Axion couldn't control himself for longer as he spoke his first sentence.

"What is the world outside now?"

This version of Axion never left the tower, which was also why he didn't know anything that happened after his time. He had been here for a long time, which somewhat intrigued him as to how much the world could change in such a time.

"You can also speak?" Gabriel asked. Since Axion had been silent until now, he assumed that, unlike Cylix and Novius, Axion didn't have the personality and consciousness of the real Axion.

He had assumed that Axion and Qin only had the battle skills of their real ones and nothing more as they were looking so lifeless initially.

He didn't realize that it was because they had been here for such a long time that all this scary silence of this place had molded their personality into something else. They had become more lifeless than when they used to be initially.

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Even Cylix and Novius had changed a bit, but not as much as them. They had still managed to hold onto some semblance of their old personality for now.

"I can," Axion answered. "I asked you a question. You should answer me. After we start fighting, I won't stop until you are dead or you leave. We wouldn't get an opportunity to talk later."

"The outside world?" Gabriel didn't know what to answer in response. He decided to tell the truth. "It's a mess now, partially thanks to you."

"Thanks to me?" Axion frowned. "What did I do?"

"After you attacked the Church of Darkness and destroyed it, the world changed... The Dark Mages went mostly extinct, and even the ones who are alive are being hunted by all the other Churches, thanks to you. What do you think the world would be like?"

"I attacked the Church of Light?" Axion asked. "How can I destroy them? And why? I'm not strong enough."

"You're right. You weren't strong enough when you were inside the Tower, but after leaving, you became much stronger. You were selected by the Holy Grimoire of Light, becoming the Holy Priest of the Church of Light."

"After that, you led them to a war against all the Dark Mages. All the other Churches joined you and waged a war on the Church of Darkness."

"The Church of Darkness was under assault, and it was destroyed..."

Gabriel gave a brief history lesson to Axion, who looked stunned after hearing. He couldn't understand why he would do that? He didn't have any ill will for the Dark Mages. He also knew that there were some really nice Dark Mages. Why would he demonize them and destroy them all?

Axion wasn't the only one who was surprised. The ones back in the main hall could also hear the conversation, and amongst them was Qin...

"Is that why I never returned?" he muttered softly, as his eyes showed some semblance of understanding.

When this imprint of his was left behind on this floor, it was when his real self was in the third year. There was also one more year for his real self to become stronger and return to the tower to attempt to reach the hundredth floor, but he never returned.

Qin could never understand why that was the case, but he understood now. When he was created, Axion was the Head of the Church of Light in the real world. The timing matched. If Axion and the entire world attacked all the Dark Mages, that meant his real self was also attacked?

He even considered the possibility that he was killed in the outside world right around that time, and that's why he wasn't able to return. His fists clenched on their own.

The other Four Youngsters who were sitting in the hall knew about this part of this history; however, they never told anyone since they didn't feel that it was important to tell. They were the only ones who weren't surprised.

However, this revelation came as a surprise to both Cylix and Novius as well.

"All the Dark Mages were killed?" Novius gazed at the Elemental Mark on the back of his hand.

Even though the Dark Mages weren't his real family, he still felt like they were a part of his clan. Moreover, his best friend was a Mage of Light. He couldn't understand how a Mage of Light could destroy all the Mages of Darkness.

Even Cylix was stunned.

He glared at Izen, who was the last person to come here before Gabriel. "Is what he says true? All the Dark Mages were killed outside when you came here?"

"Not all, but it's true that most of them were killed in that event," Izen answered. "Only a few of them managed to escape that tragedy, but they were being hunted by the Churches and being killed by the other Churches who considered them Demons now."

"I'm not sure how it's the situation now since I've been here, but it's quite possible that the rest have also been killed by now," he added.

"What about the Academy? Did we not try to stop the Churches from committing these atrocities?" Cylix asked.

Izen lowered his head, not knowing how to answer. The Academy stopping the Churches? Let alone stopping the Churches or trying to help the Dark Mages that were being attacked from all sides, the Academy even gave their own students who shared the Element of Darkness to the Churches on a silver platter.

Izen wasn't a part of the academy at that time, but he knew the history. He didn't agree with how the Academy handled everything, but he couldn't change the past.

"Answer us! Did the Academy not do anything?" Novius asked as his voice got louder.

His eyes were showing his anger. He created the Academy with Cylix to make the world a better place! It wasn't just to train the Mages of different elements but also to make sure that the academy could protect the weak!

How could an entire side be wiped out, and the Academy did nothing?

"The Academy didn't do anything. The Academy sided with the majority and instead helped the Churches that were against the Mages of Darkness."

Novius received the response he was waiting for, but it only made him more upset. His fists tightened...

"What about the Dark Mages who were the students of the Academy at that time? Tell me the Academy at least helped them or let them leave?" Cylix inquired.

Even though he was heartbroken to hear what their Academy had become throughout the year and how it strayed from the purpose it was made for, he still hoped that at least they followed their moral duties of a teacher!

Izen bit his lower lip. The questions were only getting harsher now.

"You don't need to answer," Novius' cold voice fell in Izen's ears just as he was about to answer. "Your expressions are enough to give us our answer. The Academy didn't even protect our own students, did they...?"

Izen shook his head. "They captured all the Mages of Darkness that were studying at the Academy and handed them over to the Church of Light to be killed..."

Novius closed his eyes, getting an answer which was worse than his expectation.

"That's why no Dark Mages ever managed to reach here after Qin... And here I foolishly thought that it was because the quality of dark mages was declining! It's not that the quality of the Mages of Darkness declined. Instead, it's the morality of all the Churches that declined!"

"Killing youngsters who hadn't even taken a single step into their journey of life, all because of their element? This level of persecution? Why?! Tell me why!"

He stood up, asking his question in rage. Before his rage, the light in this room started retreating, making the room darker. He didn't direct his question only to Izen but to everyone else as well who came here after this happened in the outside world.

"Tell me why the world chose to hunt Dark Mages like the Dark Mages didn't deserve to live?! Why?!"

Cylix let his friend show his anger without interfering. Even though he was also a Mage of Light, he was also angry and disappointed at the outside world.

"We don't know..." Izen answered. "It all happened a long time ago. I have no idea how it all started or what led to this, but by the time I came here, no one was even willing to ask these questions."

"I don't think any ordinary person in the outside world knows why exactly the Dark Mages were truly attacked. All they know is what has been told to them, which is that the Dark Mages are devils who need to be wiped out of the world for it to be saved," he explained.

By the time he came here, he wasn't a powerful being in the outside world. He was also a youngster, just like everyone else here. That was why he had no idea of the upper echelon secrets.

Let alone him; even the others here didn't know why it happened. They were the same as the other Youngsters of the Academy like Maria, who just knew that the Dark Mages were bad and needed to be killed, but none of them knew why. Even the Young Princes from the Lumen Family didn't know.

Even if one tried to ask a question, no one received any answers.

The only person here who could have any idea as to why it could be was Qin. It all happened when Qin was in his fourth year, so it was most probably related to things that were happening around his time, but he couldn't recall anything like that.

Even he couldn't think of any reason why the Dark Mages would be attacked. He came here when he was in his third year, and by that time, everything in the outside world was quite normal.

The Dark Mages studied at the Academy. The Church of Darkness also kept its business to itself. So what could've led to something so massive in just one year, he didn't know.

Looking at Izen, he could feel that Izen wasn't lying. The only people who could know what actually happened were the people on the outside. Even Axion looked completely ignorant about what he did outside.

"So I was killed outside... That's why I didn't return. Not only me but we were all wiped out... The Mages of Light..."

"Are you telling the truth?" Axion asked Gabriel. "Did I really do it?"

"I have no reason to lie to you," Gabriel answered. "You changed the world, and I also suffered the brunt of that change... It's because of the war that you started that thousands of families were destroyed every year."

"The ones who awakened with the element of Darkness one day found their lives changed the very next day. Either their family killed them or their friend. If they still somehow escaped, the Churches killed them."

"I see..." After the initial surprise, Axion seemingly regained his old calm. "If I actually did it, then they must've deserved it for some reason."

His indifference was quite astonishing for Gabriel. Even when he was informed how he destroyed millions of lives, Axion still seemingly didn't care. Instead, his first thought was that it was fine.

"As you said, I wasn't the only one who fought the Dark Mages. The other Churches also joined me. So I'm sure there must be a good reason which needed us to eradicate all the Dark Mages," he further stated.

,m "Honestly, it's much better this way. I always found the Darkness to be an unholy element. If I'm not wrong, it corrupted the Dark Mages in the end, which forced me and the others to put an end to them..." Axion declared.

His words weren't only heard by Gabriel but by everyone inside the hall as well. Qin stood up. This guy... Even after finding out how he had killed millions of innocents, he didn't feel a single shred of regret.

Novius also found that answer quite disappointing.

"Is that what you also think?" he glanced at Cylix. "Darkness is an Unholy Element?"

"Nonsense." Cylix scoffed. "How long have we been together? Who could know about the Element better than us? Your Element isn't unholy at all. It's just different from mine, which doesn't make it bad. While I use the Light in this world, you use the Darkness."

"Both Light and Darkness are needed for her world to survive... I don't know why the idiots outside would forget such a basic law of nature!" He further wondered.

Unfortunately, they could only think about such things now. They couldn't change what happened in the outside world. They couldn't change the history or bring back the dead to life...

They could only do something to make the current status quo in the outside world unstable... And they also knew how to do that... Gabriel was the key!

When Axion talked about the Mages of Darkness like they were some vile beasts who didn't deserve to live, Gabriel visibly looked upset.

From what Izen informed them, most of the world outside went along with the majority. By now, the entire story about the past had been changed, and no one knew the truth that the Mages of Darkness were once upon a time good people as well.

With that logic, even Gabriel should've hated the Dark Mage. He should've been in agreement with Axion, but instead, he was upset. That meant Gabriel could see how bad this whole thing was.

They could see that Gabriel wasn't a blind youngster like the others, who hated the Dark Mages. Instead, he looked like someone who knew how bogus this entire accusation was. If there was someone who was worthy to receive their blessing in the current generation, it was most probably Gabriel.

Gabriel was not only a brave youngster who didn't choose the weaker option, but he was also someone who seemed to have some compassion for the Dark Mages, which made Novius and Cylix place even more importance on him.

They both decided on something just because of that. They needed someone who could bring this unjust world on the right track, and who better for that than Gabriel, who not only possessed two elements but most importantly, the mentality to not be scared of any challenges…

Seeing the indifference of Axion, Gabriel was actually somewhat upset.

He had almost died because of this, and this man was just saying that it was because he probably deserved it? He lost his entire old life, and this guy was saying he deserved it? He couldn't even enter the Royal City without hiding his real self, and this was deserved by him? Just why? Why did he deserve it?

Just because his Element was similar to the Element of Darkness, he went through so much. What about the people who actually had the Element of Darkness? What about the ones that were waiting for their element to awaken to become a mage, and when their element awakened, they were killed because it was the wrong element?

The more indifference of Axion he saw, the angrier he became.

"Just because you and the other Church heads thought it was right, all those people were put to death!" Gabriel asked. "Who gave you the right to decide who gets death and who doesn't?"

Since Gabriel had experienced the effect of this personally, this topic was very close to his heart.

"Just because eight people selected by the Holy Grimoires agreed on something, it became the law? You became the gods of this world who could write the destiny of people you didn't like? Just because you became Holy Priests, you damned their present and future generations to a life of a beast who had to run?!"

Axion still didn't show much expression on his face. He just sighed as if he was tired of this discussion.

"If I was selected by the Holy Grimoire, that means I was selected by the Gods. And just like me, all the other Church Heads were selected by the Gods as well. Of course, we won't make a wrong decision. Whatever we did was right. No one in the world has any right to question the actions of a Holy Priest!" Axion declared.

He was firm on his stance. It didn't matter what others said; he believed he was right, no matter what he did!

Gabriel sent his Sword of Uriel back after hearing Axion's answer.

Axion had not only disappointed him, but he had also angered him thoroughly.

"I wanted to save this for later, but not anymore..." Gabriel held his Ancestral Staff firmly, resting its lower end on the sand.

Initially, he thought that he could seriously fight Axion and learn something from him, but not anymore. He was so upset that he wanted to crush Axion! If Axion thought that having strength and Grimoire gave him the right to kill anyone, he wanted to do the same thing that he did to others!

Even though he knew that this Axion wasn't the one who destroyed the world outside, still his words were just as arrogant and sharp. It wasn't the past that upset him as much as the words that came later, justifying it by saying that they deserved it!

Initially, he didn't even care about the last when he selected Axion. He just wanted to learn from a more powerful Mage of Light, but now that felt like a waste of time. If he had to learn from anyone, he was going to learn from an even greater mage of Light, Cylix!

"Having a Holy Grimoire gave you the right to decide others' fate... Let me use the same privilege today! This time, let me write your fate..."

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Gabriel started muttering something under his breath, holding the Ancestral Staff firmly.

As soon as he started chanting the spell, the surroundings started changing. The sky, which was bright until recently, started getting darker.

There was not a single cloud in the sky before Gabriel started chanting the spell, but as soon as he began, the sky was entirely covered by dark clouds.

The warm winds that were flowing turned much colder as an eerie atmosphere spread out.

This was also the Infernal King's first time seeing something like this since it was a spell that Gabriel hadn't used before.

Gabriel didn't even finish chanting the spell, but the Infernal King could still feel a strange yet familiar power in the surroundings. This was the same power that he felt when Gabriel's chains were overwhelming him.

"Huh, so you're finally ready to fight. So be it." Axion believed that Gabriel was ready to start the battle. He also called out his High Grade Staff.

"What?" As soon as Axion called out his Ancestral Staff, his eyes slightly widened. He saw the dark ring which was in Gabriel's fingers now fly out.

The dark ring transformed into a strangely charming yet scary black book that faced Gabriel.

The book opened on its own as the pages started flipping on their own, ending up on the main spell that Gabriel was casting... the seventh spell.

[Four Hours Ago]

Gabriel was on the 95th floor.

He had been fighting an unending horde of monsters which was quite challenging. No matter how many monsters he killed, more of them kept coming.

After getting extremely tired of them, Gabriel stepped back and let the Infernal King handle them for a little while he rested.

He had been fighting non-stop without taking the Infernal King's help on the last ten floors, but he realized he needed some rest on this floor. Moreover, as the enemies were in such huge numbers, the Infernal King was a much better option to deal with them.

Walking to the back, covered in sweat, Gabriel sat on the ground and started drinking some water.

After having some water, he used the Spirit Crystals given my Lira to recover some strength. However, as he was using the Spirit Crystals, he felt a vibration in his ring.

p His Ring came out on its own and transformed back into the form of a Grimoire. It turned to the sixth spell but didn't stop there. The pages turned to the next page, which was completely empty.

A new spell started appearing there.

Going through the unending challenges of the Tower, Gabriel had strengthened his soul a lot. As people said, one could only become stronger by facing stronger beings, and it was true for Gabriel.

Before receiving the Tower, he had six spells in total, but after challenging himself, he was finally strong enough to possess one more spell.

Moreover, the new spell was a High Tier Spell as well. He went through the spell, learning it.

"It's a powerful spell, but it consumes a lot of strength... Then again, that flaw is to be expected. All powerful spells will consume a lot... Making them harder to use..."

While the Infernal King fought the unending stream of Monsters, Gabriel went through the spell and learned it.

[Present time]

Cylix and Novius both stood up, pleasantly surprised at the sight of a book.

"A Holy Book with a new element?"

As soon as Gabriel stepped into the hall, they were able to see his new elements and all the treasures he possessed, which became useless before them in a place like this, but even the Tower couldn't make the ring reveal itself.

To them, the ring looked like an ordinary ring. It was only now that they saw what it truly was! It was a Holy Grimoire!

"How Ironic..." Novius muttered as he sat down again. There was a constant smile on his face, which he couldn't hide. With the appearance of the Grimoire, their hopes for Gabriel went even higher.

They were sure that Gabriel could truly change this world! He didn't just have the talent and the spiritual strength but a Holy Grimoire as well, possessing two elements. Who could be better for them to depart their knowledge to than this young man?

"Ironic indeed," Cylix also sat down after his initial surprise. "Axion was saying that people with Holy Grimoires are allowed to do anything before a person who possessed a Holy Grimoire..."

On another end, Gabriel finished chanting his spell, which didn't take long.

In the end, he spoke the last three words as he finally raised his staff a few inches above the ground.

"Curse of the Dead!"

As if answering his roar, the skies also roared as dark lightning flashed through the sky, signaling the beginning of a storm.

The attack was a high tier spell, which was enough to use every ounce of Gabriel's strength to be used only as a last resort. However, Gabriel didn't care. If he needed to win only one of the two battles, then this was the one he was going to win! And he was going to do it overwhelmingly.

As for his battles with Cylix and Novius, he could at least ask them for some time to rest and gather his strength. He was sure that they weren't going to say no to his basic request. However, even if they said no, he still had the Infernal King to hold them back while he prepared himself.

Before all that, he first needed to defeat Axion.

A strange dark energy spread everywhere, turning the entire surroundings dark. Even through the Portal, Cylix and Novius also couldn't see anything that was happening on the battlefield. It was as if an ungodly dark power had completely covered the battlefield, making them blind to what was happening on the battlefield.

If anything, they could at least feel the dark energy even in the hallway, which was sleeping through the portal.

The dark energy was only a tiny bit similar to the Darkness of Novius and Qin, which they could feel, but they also knew that, for the most part, it was something more... Darkness was a universal force. Even though it was classified as a devilish element by the outside World, it was a pure form of energy.

If anything, darkness was the purest form of energy since its existence; even before the universe came, the sun, the moon, or anything else came into existence. Darkness wasn't an unholy element but the strangest energy that they were feeling now; it was enough even to make them feel chills for some reason.

It was the energy of death which was the most unholy form of element, consisting of all the broken hopes, dreams, and infinite rage of billions of dead beings! Darkness was a powerful Element, but not as powerful as the Element of Death which walked over the dead bodies of billions of beings in the universe.

Where there was life, there was death, and death was the only thing that was inevitable for a person! All those who lived had to die sooner or later! The Deadly Energy seemingly appeared in the tower for the first time as long as Cylix and Novius had been there.

The Dark aura of death was so powerful that it was even able to surpass the spatial restrictions, appearing in the majestic hall, but that wasn't all. The dark aura spread even wider, able to leave the bounds of the Tower.

The Head Council Members who were standing right outside the tower, observing the ranking, felt this dark energy that they didn't feel before. It was coming from the tower, but it was the first time this was happening.

Eliana was a Mage of Light who was more sensitive to this aura, but the others weren't completely ignorant either. All the Head Council Members felt this terrifying aura.

Eliana raised her hand, joining them together. She cast a barrier around the tower to restrict this terrible aura around the Tower. She didn't want this aura to reach their students as she didn't know what kind of effect it could have on them.

A beautiful golden barrier appeared around the tower, restricting the aura.

Since the aura had passed through a lot of spaces and barriers to spread it, it had already gotten weaker by the time it reached here. Thanks to that, even a single barrier of Light from Eliana was able to stop the aura.

"This aura is similar to the aura we felt from the Dark Mage who attacked the Museum," Eliana commented, recognizing this aura.

Even though the aura she sensed before was the aura of the Infernal King, it had a trace of death and darkness. Gabriel's aura at the moment also had the same essence more or less.

She was sure this aura couldn't belong to a Mage of Light. At this point, she was even more convinced about something. She also realized that she had been wrong about her initial assumption.

"You're right. This aura is quite similar to the aura we sensed before," Rem agreed with Eliana.

"The Tower never leaked an aura like that. What is happening?" Lishen asked, confused. He didn't understand why the aura of the Prince of Darkness was coming from inside the tower.

"Of course, it's coming from inside because Karyk is inside. There's only one person who is inside the tower. This aura could only belong to him. Since he's fighting on the 99tg floor, he probably used some spell that removed whatever illusion he had cast," Eliana commented grimly. "We were all wrong about something..."

"Illusion? Wrong about what?"

"Karyk wasn't a Mage of Light..." Eliana answered Lishen and the others. "If I'm not wrong, Karyk is the same person we saw inside the Museum! That's also why he was able to kill Hawrin so easily. Yann was right! Karyk was the killer!"

"How can that be?" Lishen inquired. "We all saw the enemy inside the Museum. He wasn't Karyk. I've seen both of them, and they both look different..."

,m "Exactly. They both look different," Ren agreed as he started shaking his head, just realizing how they were all thoroughly fooled by one person!

"Karyk knew about the Museum and all the Numens. That meant he came here specifically for our Numens! Hawrin was just a bonus for him, if I'm not wrong," he further explained so the others could also understand the entire situation.

"And if he came here to take Numens, of course, he would deal with Lambard. He wouldn't attempt the theft without preparing a buyer! He most probably has a good relationship with Lambard already," Rem theorized, going slightly deeper in his theory.

"Either Karyk already possessed a Numen, or he asked for one from Lambard... A Numen which could help him disguise..." he further added.

As soon as he spoke up to this point, Lishen's eyes lit up.

He exclaimed, "The Ring of Apophis!"

They had all heard about Lambard possessing a ring that could help him disguise any way he pleased. With the ring, it could be impossible even for them to find out the true identity of the person.

"On the night Hawrin died, a student claimed that he saw a first-year student entering the Dorms," Eliana stated. "But there was no student with those facial features... That would make sense if Karyk had the ring of Apophis, which he used to change his looks to not leave any evidence behind."

"That would also explain why he wasn't taking off his Gloves on his right hand specifically... That's where he wore the Ring of Apophis!" Rem declared. He wanted to beat himself up for taking this long to piece all these things together.

All those stories about the gloves being something special for him were a lie.

"So he manipulated us all... And we fell for it! The Prince of Darkness was right before our eyes all this while, and we couldn't even see him?" Lishen slapped his forehead.

The entire academy had been fooled, including the smartest of them.

"That's probably also why his talent was so high in the measurement... If he is the Prince of Darkness, he has the Grimoire of Darkness, which boosted his talent and Spiritual Strength. It makes sense that his talent came out so high!"

"We were blinded by his talent and our greed which made us an easy target." Eliana clenched her fist. She was really enraged, mostly at herself.

"It's still not too late, is it?" Xinci chimed in. "Stop being so gloomy. We haven't lost yet. It's not too late. We found out at the right time. He is still inside. When he comes out, we can capture him!"

"Moreover, isn't that even better? If we can capture him, we can not only retrieve all our treasures but also destroy the last hope of the resurrection of the Church of Darkness!" Yoan agreed with Xinci.

"That's right." The Head of House of Water Rin also found it perfect. "We aren't too late. When he comes out, he won't know that we already know his truth!"

"Since he's using all his strength inside the tower, he probably doesn't know that his aura is leaking out. He also won't know that we already know his identity. If he is completely unsuspecting, we can take him down much easier."

"That's right. Moreover, since we have time, we can prepare a trap for him as well!" Rem agreed. Now that they knew who the enemy was and where he was going to be later, they could place more traps for him.

"We need to activate the Space Sealing Formation around the academy. Even though it will consume a lot of Spiritual Strength, it'll be worth it since it'll make it impossible for him to use Teleportation formation like last time!

Darkness was everywhere, surrounding the entire desert. It was as if the darkness had swallowed the entire sun.

Cylix and Novius tried to see through the darkness, but there was something that was stopping even them.

They looked at each other, wondering if they should go there and check for themselves.

Fortunately, before they could decide, the darkness slowly started retreating.

The powerful aura that had momentarily covered the entire tower started dispersing.

The light started returning to the desert, albeit slowly.

As the darkness completely disappeared, Cylix and the others were able to see through the portal once again.

As they looked through the Portal, they saw Gabriel sitting on his knees. His face was completely pale, and blood was trickling down his lips.

"He lost..." Cylix muttered, noticing that Axion was still standing.

Novius shook his head. "He didn't."

Novius clapped his hands, changing the portal direction. Previously, they could only see the back of Axion, but as the portal angle changed, they could finally catch a glimpse of Axion as well.

Even though Axion was standing, a black liquid was coming out of his nose, lips, and even eyes.

His face looked lifeless and frozen in place as the dark liquid kept trickling.

Axion was not only defeated but it was done in just one attack. Slowly, Axion's body started disintegrating, disappearing into thin air.

There was only one person who was still standing now... It was the Infernal King. As soon as the Infernal King regained his sight, he went to Gabriel, who was sitting on his knees.

"Are you alright?" He was shocked at the strength behind this attack, but he was also curious about Gabriel's condition. He wasn't looking fine.

Gabriel had his fist on the ground, giving him an excess of support. He was feeling really bad. Even he hadn't expected that this spell was going to be this overwhelming. He thought that at least he was going to be able to stand, but it was like the spell completely sucked him dry.

His hands were trembling uncontrollably, and his vision was slightly blurring. His body was also aching a lot. His heartbeat was so slow that it had never been.

Despite all that, Gabriel hadn't passed out, all because of his powerful resolve. He didn't want to pass out at this moment since if he passed out, he knew the safety mechanism of the escape stone was going to activate on its own, sending him out of the tower.

He didn't want to have to leave after coming this far. He wanted to fight more!

"I am fine... Just give me a minute." Gabriel didn't tell what he was feeling, just telling that he was fine.

The black book was still floating before Gabriel.

Gabriel raised his right hand, calling the Grimoire back.

The Grimoire returned to his right hand, returning to the form of a ring.

"You did good..." The Infernal King commented. It was the first time he was genuinely complimenting Gabriel for his actual strength and not just the resolve.

The spell was very powerful, after all. And for him to be able to successfully cast that spell was indeed incredible.

Even though the Infernal King didn't see just what that spell did since it was completely dark, he still felt just the sheer strength behind that attack.

"Did I?" Gabriel smiled in response. Even as he was in pain, he could still find time to smile.

"The High Tier spells are certainly very powerful. A bit too powerful," he stated, glancing at his trembling hands. "Then again, I'm sure the Ancestral Staff also had a hand in boosting that spell's strength. I need to get stronger so I can cast this spell without ending up in such a condition."

He also sent his Ancestral Staff back before just lying on the warm sand to rest. The clouds in the sky started dispersing slowly, making the surroundings even brighter.

"You should rest now. I'll fight the next battle..."

"Heh, if we don't have a time restriction, I want to go through that battle myself as well," Gabriel answered. "We will see what rules we will be under. If they don't give me some time to prepare, I'll have to leave it to you then."

The Infernal King also sat beside Gabriel on the sand. "Why fight alone?"

He was genuinely curious about Gabriel's mindset. He could take the Infernal King's help to didn't, but he still preferred to fight alone until he seriously needed to. Why?

"Because he wants to get stronger," a voice came from the back.

The Infernal King stood up and looked back, noticing Cylix standing behind them.

"Let me help you up," Novius reached out his hand to Gabriel to help him up, appearing before him.

Gabriel didn't take Novius' hands. Even with his aching body, he still sat up by himself.

Novius didn't mind. He just retracted his hand. He noticed the slight trembling in Gabriel's hands which was much less than it had been before but still clearly visible.

"That spell of yours took quite a heavy toll on you. Then again, a high-tier spell from a Grimoire is supposed to be powerful," Novius commenter. "What's more surprising is that a young mage like you was able to use a High Tier Spell of a Holy Book... That in itself was more incredible."

Cylix agreed. "When we first saw you, we knew you had an incredible talent, but even we didn't know that you were a Holy Mage with such resilience."

"It's good to see a Holy Mage who isn't even twenty years old... I don't know about the current scenario in the outside world, but in our time, it was almost impossible to find a Holy Priest with your age..."

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"Let's go back for now." Cylix clapped his hands, bringing Gabriel and the Infernal King back to the main hall since Gabriel wasn't in any condition to fight.

Gabriel appeared in the same old spot where he was before going to the Desert.

Cylix and Novius were still standing before him.

Cylix clapped his hands again. A small box appeared before Gabriel.

The small box appeared to be made from metal but wasn't very big. It was only around ten centimeters wide and thirty centimeters long. Its height was only twenty centimeters.

"What is this?" Gabriel asked, looking at the snow-white box.

"Open it," Cylix answered. "See for yourself."

"Don't worry. It's nothing bad... We won't harm you like that," Novius chimed in, seeing the suspicions on Gabriel's face. "Just open it."

Gabriel decided to check it. In any case, if they really wanted to hurt him, they really didn't need to use this trick. He wasn't in any condition to fight.

Gabriel opened the box slowly…

Gabriel opened the metallic box that was given to him by the Cylix and Novius.

However, as he opened the box, he saw only one pill inside. Noticing the small white pill, he raised his head, wondering what it was.

"What is this pill?" He asked Novius.

Cylix couldn't help but laugh. "You know, you are strong but not quite knowledgeable. You need to work on that. It's not just strength that can help a mage, but also the vast Knowledge. The pill you see before you is a Soul Healing Pill. It will give your soul some relief."

"You've placed a lot of burden on your soul. These pills can be used to heal your soul and to relieve some symptoms like trembling," Novius explained. "Take it. There's no poison in it."

Gabriel suspiciously looked at Novius and Cylix. Even though he wasn't too suspicious of them, he didn't trust them enough to eat something that was given by them. There were many things that could go wrong.

However, as he was concerned, the Infernal King also spoke, "You can eat. No poison."

The Infernal King also confirmed that the pill wasn't poisoned. If there was anything wrong, he could've seen it with his flaming eye.

After getting confirmation even from the Infernal King, Gabriel picked up the small white pill.

He had never heard about a pill like that in his life, which was what surprised him even more.

"Did you really not see a pill like that before? I thought these pills should be common," Novius asked. "Any decent Alchemist should be able to make a pill like that."

Gabriel wasn't from a wealthy family. He was from a small town, so he didn't know much. But still, if there were pills like this, he was sure that Lira would have them as well.

"If she had them, why didn't she give me or tell me anything about these?" Gabriel stated at the pill, lost in some thought.

He could think of multiple possibilities, one of which could be that she didn't think he was going to need something like this, as there was no way for him to overburden his soul with the low-tier spells that he possessed.

It wasn't wrong either since there was no way for Lira to know that he was going to become a Mid Tier Mage in a few days and even gain a High Tier Spell of Death...

"It's not his fault..." Izen chimed in, breaking his silence.

"Speak," Cylix said, gesturing for Izen to speak further.

"The pills aren't easy to make... At least they weren't in my time. The medicinal plants that are the core of the pills were becoming harder and harder to find when I came here," Izen further explained. "In fact, in my time, there were only a handful of pills, and they were sold at a very expensive price."

"I see." Cylix nodded. "So the Soul Nourishing Pills could've gone extinct by the present time. In that case, it's really not surprising that he didn't know about this."

"What is happening in the outside World..." Novius was surprised that a pill that used to be the most basic item during their time was also extinct.

The Soul Nourishing Pills allowed them to use spells beyond their limits without being too worried about the consequences. This also allowed them to break through their limitations by challenging their bodies.

Unfortunately, without those pills, the side effects of spells beyond someone's limits were too much, which slowed down the training of a Mage. No wonder the youngsters of the world were getting weaker compared to their time.

Seeing the conversation and after getting the confirmation of the Infernal King, Gabriel placed the pill on his lips and swallowed it.

Anyone here could lie about the pill, but the Infernal King couldn't allow him to eat something that was dangerous for him as he was bound by the contract of the Grimoire. He could do nothing which harmed Gabriel even in the smallest way.

As soon as Gabriel swallowed the pill, he really felt better. The pill turned to the purest form of energy inside his body which nourished his soul.

The pure and gentle energy felt somewhat cold, but it was also very good for Gabriel's health as the pill didn't just nourish his soul but also returned some of his strength to him.

The trembling in Gabriel's hands was going down slowly with time, but the magical pill increased the process by a lot. The trembling and the body ache disappeared completely. Gabriel's heartbeat also returned to its usual pace.

"This pill..."

The pill really wasn't poisonous. Instead, it was magical! Something like this was really too incredible!

"You should stay seated. Don't push your body. Even though the pill will heal some symptoms, your body is still tired. Just rest and let the pill help. Even with the pill, you still need an hour of rest," Novius told Gabriel before turning around.

"As for your next battle, we can start that after you are completely fine," he added without even glancing back.

Even though he wasn't lying about the rest that Gabriel needed, he did exaggerate the time a little to keep Gabriel here for longer. He wanted to talk to Gabriel about the outside world and how things were there at the moment since the information he received today all came as a surprise to him.

He had many questions to ask, especially about Gabriel's element and the Academy. But more importantly, he wanted to know about the current situation of the Dark Mages outside. Was there really no dark Mage left?

Novius walked back to his throne with Cylix. However, they didn't let Gabriel stay on the ground either.

Novius clapped their hands, making two thrones appear near the center of the call for Gabriel and Infernal King to sit. Since they had an hour here,

Gabriel stood up himself after seeing the throne. He didn't even have to ask who it was for. There were only two people here, and two new thrones had appeared.

Surprisingly, the throne on which Axion used to be sitting before disappearing as his existence was completely removed with his loss.

p After Gabriel sat down, Novius also arranged for something to eat for Gabriel and the Infernal King.

"Eat up."

Even though Gabriel was supposed to be fighting them later, they themselves allowed Gabriel to rest and even fed him. This kind of hospitality was never received by Gabriel on any of the floors, which just made him believe that Cylix and Novius were so confident about their strength that they didn't even consider him a challenge…

Even though Cylix and Novius were treating him well, for some reason Gabriel didn't like it. It made him feel weak... As if he was at the mercy of Novius and Cylix. However, he still wanted to have that fight and he wanted to be at his best for that.

If it took some rest for him to be better, that's what he was going to have.

"You said the Dark Mages outside were killed?"

Not long after Gabriel started eating, Novius asked.

"That's right. The Dark Mages are almost extinct," Gabriel answered as he continued eating. For some reason, he really felt hungry, even more than he ever felt before.

After using a High Tier Spell, he felt like he was starving. Moreover, the pill only made him even hungrier. It wasn't odd either since his body did need some strength.

"You said almost... That means some are still alive? So there are still dark mages?" Novius inquired.

"Of course there are. The element never died. Youngsters keep getting the Element of Darkness. But they are also killed right away. So I won't count them as being alive. There is only one Dark Mage who had managed to survive the initial phase of her Awakening and being hunted..."

"Who?" Novius asked. "You know that person?"

"We..." He didn't know how to describe Lira. She wasn't a friend, but she wasn't a stranger at this point either. He took a moment to find the right word. "We work together as we're both unorthodox mages by today's standards. Because of my element, I'm also not allowed to openly show myself without disguise..."

"If you're also hated like the Dark Mages, how did you get inside the Academy?" Cylix asked. "Isn't that supposed to be risky?"

Cylix and Novius were informed that the academy was siding with the Church of Light. If the Dark Mages and Gabriel were hated by the Church of Light, by association the Academy wouldn't have allowed him in either.

" I suppose that's what the ring is for..." He realized the truth after noticing the ring of Gabriel that he saw before.

Even though the ring of Disguise was useless before him, he understood that it could work outside. It could've helped Gabriel infiltrate the academy but still... Why would he take the risk?

"Did you sneak inside the Academy just to get inside the Tower?" he asked.

"That's right. I wanted to test myself inside the tower. Entering the academy was the only way for me to achieve that," Gabriel responded, swiftly lying. There was no way he was going to tell her that he entered the academy to rob it, and that the tower was only an afterthought.

"Hah, so only one person managed to get here after decades, and that person isn't even a student of our academy. The quality of academy students is really falling," Cylix let out a sigh. He hadn't seen a single student from the academy in all this time.

Moreover, the youngster who did manage to get here, he wasn't even a real student at the academy. Instead, he had bad blood with the Academy.

Gazing at Gabriel, Cylix couldn't help but worry about the future of the academy. The Academy was supposed to be neutral... It was supposed to be the light of guidance, which was to protect the weak and train the next generation.

However, instead of being neutral, the academy tilted in one direction, making new enemies. Cylix could see that Gabriel wasn't strong enough at the moment, but it was only a matter of time before he reached his true potential

He didn't know Gabriel's element. It was the first time he saw an element like this, and that's also why he wasn't able to gauge the full potential of this Element. However, he could feel that when Gabriel reached his true potential, he could become a terrifying storm that was impossible to stop. And everyone who stood against this nightmarish storm was going to be swallowed by it.

At the moment the Academy was standing against him.

'It I could leave this tower, I would've beaten the hell out of whoever is running the academy for all the wrong decisions. Unfortunately, I can't leave... I'm not even real but a figment of someone's consciousness. I can't change anything that happens outside.'

'However, it might actually be too late already... The academy had allowed it to happen for too long... It strayed too far from its path. Maybe it's the only way... They need a wakeup..."

While Cylix was lost in his own thoughts, Novius kept his focus on Gabriel. "If your friend has managed to survive, she must be a powerful mage of darkness as well."

He had thought that all the dark mages were extinct. He was quite relieved to know that it wasn't the case, and that there were still some who were alive, and fighting back. Moreover, now that they had the help of Gabriel, they could really have a chance.

Novius now wanted to help Gabriel even more since he liked him a lot. Gabriel was the only person who was siding with the Dark Mages. Moreover, if he was strong enough, he could really tilt the scales in the favour of Dark Mages so that their persecution could actually stop.

"She is the Holy Priestess of Darkness," Gabriel answered. "She holds the Grimoire of Darkness."

"Huh?" Novius was pleasantly surprised at the revelation. It was good that a dark mage was alive, but if that Dark Mage was the one who was selected by the Holy Grimoire of Darkness, that was even better! It meant there was really a decent chance for the Dark Mages to change the world outside.

"It won't be easy though," he commented, controlling his expectations. "On one side, there are eight Holy Priests and their churches with an army of mages and all the support. On the other side, there are two of you who have no one other than each other..."

"What is her name?" Novius inquired. "And how strong is she compared to you?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you her strength," Gabriel kept Lira's strength level a secret for now, just to be safe.

However, he did tell her name. "As for her name; it's Lira Elisi."

As he spoke the name, he didn't forget to observe Qin's expressions since it was his last name.

"Elisi?" Qin raised his head, hearing the name. However, he soon lowered his head again. He was supposedly dead in the Academy. So there was no way he could be related to the girl. During his time, he was the last Member of the Elisi Family after all. He believed it was just someone with a similar name.

As Gabriel talked about the outside world while eating, the outside world was changing very fast.

The entire academy was going through a significant change. The whole academy was sealed. Moreover, all the students were told to go back to their dorms. Even the fourth-year students weren't allowed to stay outside now, including Garrick.

Garrick didn't understand why they were taking such drastic steps for Gabriel. Even though it was surprising that Gabriel managed to reach that floor, the Head Council members were behaving like he was an enemy of the Academy who was going to destroy everything after coming out.

According to Garrick, that should've been impossible. He didn't know what Challenges were on the Higher Floors that he didn't manage to reach, but he knew that all those challenges were many for Mages younger than thirty years of age. Only people younger than thirty could even attempt to climb the tower.

So even if Gabriel actually managed to clear the 99th floor and even the 100th floor somehow, it still didn't warrant a lockdown. Even the most talented young mage was nothing before the Head Council mages who had decades of experience and vast knowledge.

If there was no restriction on age, he believed the Head Council member could've cleared the floors as well. So what was making them so concerned? Why were they taking steps as if they could be facing a terrifying enemy?

Unfortunately, his questions only stayed in his mind as he couldn't get any answers. The teachers didn't even allow him to get close to the Head Council members as it was Eliana's command that no one was to be allowed... No one!

He could only ask the teachers that taught him throughout the years. Unfortunately, those teachers didn't know it either. They were just as confused. It seemed that only the Head Council members knew about their reasoning.

He could only give up and leave it to the Head Council Members, even though his curiosity was killing him.

Even as he walked back to the Dorms, he only thought about Gabriel. Was Gabriel really a threat for the academy...? A threat that was big enough for the entire academy to be on the lockdown? Or was it related to the hundredth floor?

He also considered the possibility that it could be about the final floor instead of being about Gabriel. He had seen Gabriel many times. That guy could be skillful, but he wasn't strong enough to be a threat to the teachers.

For him, it made more sense that the Academy was being sealed because the hundredth floor was being opened. Still, until he had the final answers from the teachers, these were all guesses. Whatever being the case, he hoped that the academy wasn't in danger.

"He has been on the ninety-ninth floor for quite some time. He could be coming out soon. Unless he does the unthinkable and reaches the final floor..." Rem stared at the name on the ranking.

"If anyone can reach there, it's him. If we are right and he's the Prince of Darkness, he'll be the youngest Holy Priest. The others who reached the ninety-ninth floor didn't have the help of the Holy Books after all," Yoan said, shaking his head.

He and the others were informed of everyone that was kept hidden from them, including Gabriel's talent measurements. The others were quite upset at Eliana for keeping such a big thing a secret from them, but they didn't argue over it now as they had more important things to do. They had a threat to face.

"Not just the Holy Book of Darkness," Xinci chimed in. "He also has the Ancestral Staff of Darkness that he stole from the museum. If the others had such advantages, the hundredth floor wouldn't have been unexplored till now."

Lishen clenched his fist, glaring at the name that was in big letters on the huge tower.

"Don't worry. Even with the Ancestral Staff, he won't be able to escape. We have sealed the academy. No Teleportation inside the academy will work. No matter what treasures he gets on the hundredth floor, he won't be allowed to take them out. He chose the wrong enemies this time!"

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He treated Gabriel with such respect and love, and that guy turned out to be the enemy! It was already embarrassing enough that they were robbed, but being robbed by one of their own students from right under their noses? That was the true epitome of embarrassment! They couldn't let him escape a second time.

Yoan agreed with Lishen, which wasn't often the case.

"Heh, he should've stopped when he had the lead. He had finished robbing the Museum without raising much suspicions to him. He could've left easily, but instead, he became more greedy and went for the hundredth floor Treasures. He might be strong, but he's certainly not very smart..."

"That guy managed to fool you all, especially you Rem!" Xinci commented. "I thought you were supposed to be the most perceptive out of all of us. We didn't know about his talent levels and other things that you kept secret from us, but you knew it. You still couldn't find out that something was wrong with him?"

"His aura was faked so well. I did feel that something was wrong about him, but I didn't take the risk. I didn't think he would be a Mage of Darkness, using a Numen to disguise. I accept that I failed."

Rem took the responsibility for his failure, even though he didn't need to.

"You better apologize to Aura too, next time you see her. And remove all the punishments you gave her for this boy," Xinci stated. "Instead of siding with her, you chose this liar?"

"What is it about? What punishments?" It was the first time Eliana was hearing about someone being punished over Gabriel. As it was related to the supposed Prince of Darkness, she was instantly intrigued.

Xinci told Eliana everything that Aira told her. Initially, Aira didn't consider it a big problem since it wasn't a major punishment. Still, now that she found out that it was a punishment given over Gabriel, she felt pretty upset since Rem sided with a fake student over the real student.

"He stole a mission letter?" Eliana's face was filled with confusion. "Why would he steal a mission letter?"

"What was in the mission?" she asked the other. "If he intentionally took it, then there must be something in the mission. Tell me the specifics about it."

"It was a mission related to Hawrin's village," Rem answered.

"It was a mission related to Hawrin's past," Rem answered. "I made the mission available in the Mission Hall for someone to investigate the village where Hawrin used to live. I wanted them to find out the truth about what happened in the village on the day of the Priest of Light, who was Hawrin's father."

"It was a pretty basic mission, just to interrogate the people of the village and the neighboring towns," he continued. However, now that he knew that it could be true that Gabriel actually took the letter, he also couldn't help but try to find something wrong with it.

Why would Gabriel take the mission letter? Why would he try to delay the mission? Unless this mission was somehow related to him?

"A mission to investigate the day where Hawrin's family was killed by a Dark Mage? Why would he care even if we investigate it? Even if the Dark Mage who did it worked for him, that wouldn't change anything, will it?" Yoan inquired.

"I don't think there's more to it than that," Rem commented. Now that he could look at the bigger picture, he was able to take an educated guess.

"I am sure that the person who killed Hawrin's father and brother was him." He pointed at Gabriel's name. "And he killed Hawrin now..."

"We were looking at it all wrong! We thought that his main goal here was to take the treasures, but if he really didn't care about Hawrin as much as his main goal, why would he be so hasty as to kill him and make his own mission hard?"

Rem's question was enough to make the others seriously think about it to understand what he was trying to say.

To make it easier for them, Rem straight came to his conclusion.

"If I'm not wrong, Gabriel is actually his real name. Karyk was the fake name that came with his fake persona. The reason he used Gabriel as his name is because he wants to leave a legacy behind in the Academy! It isn't that he wanted to hide that he was Karyk!"

"Moreover, one thing is for sure. Gabriel hated Hawrin and his family... He killed Hawrin's father and his brother. And now, he killed Hawrin, even at the risk of making things hard for him, instead of waiting. That means his anger wasn't light."

"Think about it. Gabriel is supposed to be someone who can even kill a Holy Priestess of Water. How could a simple priest make him so angry that to wipe his own family, he had to put his life at risk?"

"You're saying that it wasn't a small enmity," Eliana said, getting the gist of it.

"Before a Holy Priest, what could a weak town priest do to offend him to this extent? Nothing. The strength difference was too high... When he was a Holy Priest, that is. But what if that enmity started before he became a Holy Priest?" Rem further stated.

"An ordinary Priest and his son couldn't do much to a Holy Priest of Darkness who was capable of killing a Head Priestess of Water, but they could definitely do a lot of things to instill this hate in a young man's heart who didn't have the strength..."

Even though some of Rem's assumptions were wrong, like Gabriel being a priest of Darkness or him being the one who killed the Head Priestess of water, his conclusion was quite close.

With that line of thinking, he continued with his explanation, "In other words, I think that Gabriel hadn't awakened his Element when his enmity with Hawrin's family was established."

" I don't know what they did to someone who hadn't awakened his Element, but it was enough to fill him with such hate that even after all this time, he still chose to kill Hawrin first, even if that meant putting his entire mission at risk," he added before finally stopping, observing the reactions of the others to see what they thought about his theory.

"That... Does make sense. Hawrin was certainly given a painful death. He was broken completely before being healed and then being broken until his soul crumbled before the pain," Lishen could also see that this story made sense if they matched it with Hawrin's death.

"Doesn't that also mean that this Gabriel was from Hawrin's village?" Yoan grimaced. "Doesn't that also mean that Gabriel only awakened his Element a few months ago at best? And with that, he's already so strong? Was the Element of Darkness really that strong?"

Yoan didn't live during the time of the Great War of Churches, but even he knew that Holy Priests shouldn't have had such fast growth where they could kill Head Priestesses with such ease.

They were thinking that Gabriel had at least more than a year of training, but if he really had the enmity as they talked about, that would mean that he awakened right before he attacked his Village and even killed people there. From that time to now, only a few weeks have passed. Could someone really be that talented?

"It's possible... His talent is over two hundred after all," Lishen smiled wryly, scratching the back of his head. "Even though it seems unlikely, it's not impossible. Moreover, maybe he also had the help of someone else when killing the Head Priestess of Water? So he could be strong, but not strong enough to kill a Head Priest alone."

"So the reason he took the letter was so the mission could be canceled. He didn't want his story to be out for some reason..." Rem commented.

"So Hawrin's villager turned out to be a Holy Priest of Darkness. A young man awakened his element and was selected by Holy Grimoire. He was instantly strong enough to kill a Priest. This wasn't a small thing, and there's no way the Church of Light wouldn't know about this!" Xinci exclaimed.

She was quite angry at the Church of Light. "Those bastards misled us with half information! They made us believe that an old Mage of Darkness killed Hawrin's parents, not telling us that it was a mage who had just awakened!"

"No wonder Hawrin said he wasn't allowed to talk about such things. The Church of Light wanted to keep this a secret," Lishen couldn't understand what the Church of Light could be thinking when they came to the decision of keeping such a thing a secret.

"They probably found it embarrassing to accept that a Novice Mage of Darkness killed one of their Priests," Yoan scoffed. "Those bastards will really do anything for their pride."

"No. I don't think that's it..." Rem disagreed. "They could've at least told us and warned us if it was just about a young mage killing. There was definitely something more to it..."

"The Church of Light members are shallow, but even they aren't people who will keep everyone in the dark if there was a threat like this. There was probably something more to it, which only they know."

While the Head Council Members were trying to guess the reason behind the Church of Light's actions, the Church was also going through some changes.

The Church of Light had mobilized most of its strength. White a lot of Church Members had moved out of the city, finishing a few Head Priests, as if they were going for a war.

Only a few Head Priests and members were left behind in the Church to protect it. Their sudden action and the Explosion in the Academy... It all gave the citizens an impression that the city had been attacked, and now the Church was mobilizing to take down whoever dared to attack the Church.

Out in the forest near the city, Lira also noticed many Mages of Light from the Church leaving, being led by the Head Priests. She kept her distance and ensured they couldn't sense her as she saw their strange actions.

She could also see that the city had been sealed entirely, and no one was allowed to enter the city now. She couldn't help but wonder if it was because Gabriel had been caught. Did the City find out about Gabriel and their plan? Was that why they sealed the city?

That could explain why the Church of Light members were leaving the city. If they actually found out about their plan, they were also going to know that Lambard and she were involved.

What was worse was that this was going to be the evidence for them that someone was trying to recreate the Church of Darkness, which was enough of an excuse for the Church of Light to ask help from the other Churches to take down Lambard, who was now proven to be helping the return of the Church of Darkness.

Last time, it was only the Church of Light that attacked Lambard's city. It was only the Power of one church, and that too when the Holy Priest of Light hadn't joined the attack properly due to his deteriorating health.

The other Churches didn't consider this matter of grave importance, like destroying the Church of Light. However, if they knew their plan, then they definitely had the potential to convince the other Churches to get involved in this matter, bringing a union just like there existed during the days when the Church of Darkness was destroyed.

Before that kind of coalition, even Lambard was going to have a hard time, even if he never left his city. Despite the city being a Fortress Numen, before the combined strength of all the Head of Churches, that impenetrable defense could also be broken.

"That doesn't make sense though. If he was caught, why didn't he use the stone to call me for help?" she wondered. "Just what is happening inside the city?!"

"That idiot!" Lambard was furious, raging in his room as he paced back and forth. It was just now that he received some information from his spies, which was infuriating.

"Here, I was preparing to welcome him back, and there he was, pulling such a stupid trick? That naive idiot! You know, people are right! Even if you give an idiot the greatest strength in the world, he'll still find a way to die due to his own stupidity!"

Maria stood at the other end of the room, surprised. She had never seen Lambard so angry in her lifetime. Lambard was someone who always had an ice-cool mindset, no matter what kind of troubles there were.

Even when he was attacked by the Church of Light, he hadn't been this angry.

"What happened?" Maria asked, trying to understand just what could've made him so angry. From his words, she was sure that it was related to Gabriel. But in what ways? Just what did Gabriel do that had managed to upset him this much?

"What happened? That idiot happened!" Lambard scoffed. "He had all the treasures of the Academy. All he had to do was leave and come here. But that idiot chose to stay behind!"

"He can come after a few days. Is it really that upsetting?" Maria asked. The only reason he was so angry was because Gabriel decided to stay at the academy for longer.

,m "It's not that he just decided to stay behind. I would've been fine with that since it's understandable he would want to spend a few more days using the ring! But that idiot entered the Tower of Challenges and revealed his identity!" Lambard's face was red in anger.

He had so many expectations. He was already dreaming about having all those Numens in his hands. However, thanks to Gabriel, all those Numens were now far out of his reach.

He had tossed away everything just to climb the tower. Now it was impossible for him to come out. It was one thing to steal all the artifacts from right under their noses, but now that they knew about him, there was no way for him to be able to leave!

The entire academy was sealed at the moment, including the space around it. This was the end! According to Lambard, it was inevitable that Gabriel was going to be caught, and all the Numens were going to be taken back by the Academy.

"I was so close to having all those precious artifacts! But because of the stupidity of one person...!"

Lambard didn't have even one percent hope that Gabriel could escape safely. Not only was he caught, but he was caught because of his own stupidity! Moreover, now that he was going to be caught, there was no way he wasn't going to expose all their plans, including his involvement in it!

"Maria! Cancel the feast. Instead, prepared for a war," Lambard declared, clenching his fist. He knew what was coming.

"I'll increase the Defences of the city," he stated. "Thanks to our dear stupid friend, we might be under attack like last time again. We would be lucky if it's just one Church this time."

In his anger, Lambard had even canceled the lease on the ring that he had given to Gabriel.

The Ring of Disguise was still connected to him. And he decided to take back the ring. It was better to take it back now that Gabriel didn't need it, thanks to his mistakes!

"Hmm?" Gabriel had just finished talking about the outside world. He was now ready for his next battle, but as he stood up, he saw the Ring of Apophis leave his finger on its own, flying away.

He reached out his hand to grab the ring, but he couldn't. The ring just disappeared into thin air before he could get a hold of it.

Now he only had one ring in his hand— the Ring of his Grimoire.

"What in the..." Gabriel just stood blankly, looking at the empty space where the ring disappeared.

"It seems you didn't have the ownership of that ring," Cylix commented as he had seen the entire phenomenon. The real owner recalled that ring.

"Lambard? But I still have some time left before my one week is over. Why would the ring leave so soon?" Gabriel was confused.

How was he going to leave the Tower like this? Without his disguise, it was going to be even more problematic for him.

"How could I forget... Words are just words... Even promises don't hold any value in this world. I thought his greed for the Numens was enough to make him keep his word to me, but he's tossing me under the bus now?"

It was one more disappointment for Gabriel. Even though he hadn't trusted Lambard with everything, he still expected him to keep his words for seven days just because of his greed for Numens that he possessed now. However, Lambard was more selfish than greedy

Just like Lambard was angry at Gabriel, Gabriel was also quite upset. He believed that Lambard recalled the ring so that he could give it to the Holy Priestess of Water! So he placed him at risk, only to get more profits for himself.

"He probably knows I finished my mission here, and now he wants to force me to leave faster. At the same time, he wants to give this ring to her. That bastard..."

"You should've bounded that Numen to yourself..." Novius told Gabriel. "That way, you could've kept that ring. Then again, let me guess. You don't know what Numen binding is?"

Gabriel shook his head. He had heard about Numens only a few days ago. How could he know what Numen binding was?

"Sigh, the more I get to know you, the more surprised I get. However, at this point, I'm starting to get you."

"Numen Binding is similar to the contracting process that Summoners do with their Summons. In other words, it's like establishing a connection like you did with the Undead beside you," Novius explained.

"As you should already know, Numens are special. They have a soul of their own. That's what makes them different from human-made false artifacts. You can't bind man-made Artefacts, but you can bind a Numen to your soul."

"Most of the mages during our time used to do that to keep their Numens safe. This way, they could make sure that no one could use their Numens without their permission. There are also some Numens like that ring which disappeared and can also link with the space to get back to their owners whenever they wish."

"So if I have Numens, they can be recalled back? I can't use them?" Gabriel asked, surprised. Didn't that mean that all the Numens that he had were useless?

"Wait a minute. How can I use this sword then?" He called out the sword of Ulien.

Even though he felt some resistance from the sword, there was no restriction on its usage.

"Because that Sword is ownerless," Cylix answered. "In other words, no one has bound this Sword to themselves since its last owner died."

"That's why you can use it even now. But still, I would advise you to bind it to yourself as soon as you can," he further suggested. "It's like a security mechanism. If only you had bounded that ring as well, it wouldn't have disappeared."

"Didn't that ring already have an owner? How could I bind it to myself? What happened to the safety mechanism if anyone can bind anyone's Numen?" Gabriel asked. If it was really that easy to bind, then could it really be called a safety mechanism?"

"That's not how it usually works, but it would've worked for you," Cylix responded. "Let me explain properly."

"There are two types of Numens. The ones who have living owners, and the ones whose last owners are dead. If it's the former type of Numen with living owners, a person can't bind them to their souls unless their soul is way stronger than the soul of the last owner."

" I don't know who the owner of that ring was, but I'm sure that your soul was definitely stronger than their soul since your soul is connected to the Grimoire. That's why you could've broken their binding and bound that ring to yourself."

" And if it's an ownerless Numen, it's much easier to bind it to yourself. That's why most of the Mages chose to bind their Numens. If you bind that Sword to yourself, then as long as you're alive, no one will be able to use that without your permission."

"Moreover, no one will be able to bind it to themselves since their souls just can't be stronger than yours, thanks to your Grimoire."

"If you have any other Numen besides that sword, you should bind that to you as well while you have the opportunity," Novius suggested.

Gabriel instantly agreed to accept his suggestion. As for the question, 'If he had any other Numen?'