Roel stared into the eyes of his ancestor silently. The fatal illusion spell had already been broken, rendering Ro Ascart’s illusions ineffective on him. It was time to repay the debt.

  “Glacier.”


  With an imposing command, Roel’s mana began surging forth as a tremendous pillar of frost gushed into the air. His life force started converting into power that he desperately needed to deal with the threat before him, enhancing his transcendent abilities to Origin Level 3.

  The moment Roel realized that he was still in the hilly terrain after escaping from the illusion, he implicitly understood that he was no longer in the safe ‘Night of the Demons’ he knew of but a treacherous land where he faced a real threat of death. He knew that he couldn’t afford to hold back here.

  At the same time, two massive figures manifested under the effects of his mana. The roaring giant hurled out a punch as soon as he appeared whereas the Primordial Earth Goddess directed a fatal glare at her enemies.

  A punch descended from the sky while a petrification spell crept up onto Ro from his feet. On top of that, a dangerous frost aura was threatening to freeze him whole if he didn’t back away as soon as possible. Ro was indubitably at a disadvantageous position here, but Roel still didn’t put down his guard.

  For one, he knew that inheritors of the Ascart Bloodline never fought alone.

  Weng!

  Over a thousand light rays burst forth from Ro’s body with a resounding buzz, dispelling Peytra’s petrification. Pure, condensed power rushed into the sky as a towering figure emerged with wings of light.

  The presence of this new adversary made Roel’s face turn grim.

  Angel.

  Unlike the Xeclydes who had only inherited the Angel Bloodline, the being standing before him was a real angel who had served Goddess Sia in the ancient era.

  The rising angel charged straight toward Grandar’s descending fist, seeking to fend it off.

  But this wasn’t the end of it yet. Shortly after the emergence of the angel, the deep howls of a wolf began echoing in the surroundings too.

  Awooo!

  The body of a massive wolf suddenly manifested out of nowhere, floating in thin air as if a phantom. Yet, when its feet finally fell and came into contact with the ground, its body suddenly turned corporeal. Without any hesitation, the phantom wolf charged straight for the Primordial Earth Goddess.

  Behind the phantom wolf, the long-haired young man also started conjuring searing flames to deal with the encirclement of frost aura around him.

  In just a split moment, three distinct pairs were formed—flame against frost, serpent against wolf, and giant against angel—and they vied for supremacy on this dark land……

  While an intense death battle was occurring inside the dungeon, the area outside the dungeon was silent and peaceful.

  The students who had been eliminated were led out of the Fog Forest by their spirit guides. Some looked at their smaller spirit guides and hung their heads in disappointment whereas others grinned excitedly at their brightly shining spirit guides.

  Regardless of whether their results were ideal or not, their trial had officially come to an end and they were free to leave the area after having their results recorded down by the teachers or the senior students. Despite so, most of them continued to loiter in the area. They were curious to see how many prodigies would overcome the trial to become new Ringbearers.

  However, over at the Nexus, the staff members were panicking over a sudden and unexpected crisis.

  “The mana pulsations are still growing stronger! It’s about to breach the second warning trigger!”


  “Damn it! What the hell is going on in the dungeon?”


  The frustrated shoutings of the staff members could be heard as everyone fell into a state of fluster. It was hard to believe that they were still calmly sipping on tea just a few minutes ago.

  The staff members of the Nexus were responsible for surveying on-campus dungeons to check for anomalies and assess their levels of threat. For many years now, they had accomplished their missions without any issues, but an unprecedented emergency had fallen upon them today.

  It was normal for fights occurring within the dungeons to generate mana pulsations, but it was usually at a negligible level considering the prowess of the freshmen and the enemies they faced. However, the dungeon suddenly began emanating intense mana pulsations.

  Initially, the staff members didn’t pay it much heed, thinking that the current batch of students might just be stronger than usual. But when the intensity of the mana pulsation exceeded the first warning trigger and still showed no signs of going down, they knew that they couldn’t take the matter lightly anymore.

  The last time the first warning trigger rang was two years ago, when the Purplerose Ringbearer, Lilian, exerted her full strength to defeat a Ring Guardian, but even so, the intensity of the mana pulsation only exceeded the first warning trigger for several seconds before going down. This time however, the intensity was still rising at a furious pace, practically screaming to them that something had gone awry.

  “It has breached the second trigger warning, but the intensity is still rising! Shit!”


  “This isn’t something that can possibly come from a student!”


  “The dungeon is going to explode at this rate!”


  Panicked shouts echoed across the room as everyone started feeling a little light-headed from the immense pressure of the situation. The stability of the dungeon was a necessary factor in maintaining the dreamlike state of the dungeon. Once the level of instability bypassed a certain level, those who were still in the dungeon at the moment would lose their immunity to injuries and death.

  Currently, the students who were still challenging the dungeons were the princess of the Saint Mesit Theocracy and the daughter of Rosa’s chief administrator.

  “Quick, inform the Emergency Rescue Team! No……”


  The pale-faced chief of the Nexus trembled fearfully at the thought of the consequences should things go wrong here. He slammed his palm on the table and bellowed.

  “Ring the Tier-1 Crisis Alarm! We’ll be heading straight to the principal!”
……

  On the hilly terrain in the dungeon, the battle got more and more intense with each passing moment. As Roel ignited his life force to forcefully raise his prowess to Origin Level 3, Grandar and Peytra’s strength were also enhanced correspondingly to a higher level.

  The roars of the massive giant shook the clouds as he hammered his fists violently down upon the layers of barriers constructed by the physically weaker angel he was facing.

  At the same time, the Primordial Earth Goddess who had nearly lost her child here fell into a complete rampage. The humongous World Serpent hissed coldly as she slammed her tail on the ground ceaselessly, breaking the earth into countless boulders that shot straight toward the phantom wolf. It was amazing how her bulky body didn’t stop her from moving at lightning speed.

  The sheer force of the boulders was more than enough to tear the phantom wolf into shreds right away, but each time the phantom wolf’s body dissipated after its death, it would suddenly reform in mid-air shortly later. It was almost as if it was a video game character with unlimited health!

  “A mere phantasmagoric beast dares to make a move against us?” hissed Peytra.

  Particles of light rose from the ground and seeped into Peytra’s body. She opened her huge mouth wide and unleashed a devastating beam of light onto the phantom wolf. The phantom wolf leaped into the sky to evade her attack, but the beam of light continued to tail him, severing the night sky into two.

  “Stinky bag of bones, what are you dawdling around for? Hurry up and finish off that bird! I can’t kill this phantasmagoric beast on my side!” shouted Peytra.

  “I know.”


  The flames burning in Grandar’s eye sockets suddenly intensified as the crimson aura around him grew brighter in color. Vaguely, a thunderous rumbling could be heard within his bones.

  The next moment, Grandar suddenly opened his fist up and thrust a finger coiled with crimson lightning toward the angel, piercing through layers of barriers before finally striking on the final golden barrier. The golden barrier didn’t shatter right away, but cracks immediately crept outward from the middle.

  The sudden aggressive assault from the skeleton giant shocked the angel. He raised his staff and gathered light behind his wings to project all sorts of divine symbols—an ivory tower, the silhouette of a god, and many others. The gathered light swiftly changed into many different forms before finally converging into the staff, which the angel then pointed at the skeleton giant.

  Boom!

  A burst of holy light passed right through the golden barrier to strike the skeleton giant squarely in his face, forcefully knocking him backward while dissipating the protective crimson aura wrapping his body. However, this setback didn’t crush the skeleton giant’s fighting spirit; if anything, it only further stoked his aggression.

  “!”


  Before the angel’s shocked eyes, Grandar’s body withstood the rush of holy light and regained his momentum. Crimson mana flared furiously on the skeleton giant once more as the brilliant flames in his eye sockets narrowed.

  “Die!”


  With an enraged roar, Grandar thrust another punch toward the already cracked golden barrier. This time, the barrier distorted slightly before shattering into pieces. The punch continued rushing forth with its remaining momentum to sink into the angel’s abdomen, causing the latter’s body to scrunch up before being blasted into a faraway mountain like a cannonball.

  Even with the angel’s natural ability of swift recovery, an attack of this level was definitely more than enough to incapacitate him for quite a while. But before Grandar could make any move to aid Roel, a burst of golden light suddenly shot out from where Roel was battling with Ro. It flew across the sky before it abruptly split into two and headed off in different directions.

  The two ancient gods immediately raised their heads warily upon sensing a familiar mana pulsation coming from the golden light. It was the Crown Origin Attribute.

  One of the light rays struck the phantom wolf, which was still in the midst of reassembling its body. The other one trailed an arc and seeped into the collapsed body of the angel by the mountain. Peytra’s face warped in horror upon realizing what had just happened, but it was already too late for her to do anything.

  The collapsed angel stood back up under the effects of the golden light, his brilliant wings glowing brighter than ever. At the same time, the phantom wolf let loose a howl as ashened flames began charging up in its mouth.

  “Tsk. Things are getting troublesome.”


  The twist of events darkened Peytra’s face, and the atmosphere around Grandar grew heavy too. They knew that their opponents had been buffed by the broken fragments of the Crown, making them much more difficult to deal with. Of course, something of this extent wouldn’t be enough to defeat them, but their opponents would at least be able to tie them down now.

  “.…… It looks like we won’t be able to spare him any help.”


  “Damn it! What will happen to Roel then? They should have three on their side!” exclaimed Peytra worriedly as she thought about the flames burning on Ro’s body.

  Surprisingly, Grandar, who had been with Roel the longest and watched him grow over time, looked much calmer in comparison.

  “Leave it to him.”


  “What?”


  “Even if another one pops out, it’ll be no more than a fake. He isn’t as weak as you think him out to be.”


  “.……”


  Grandar’s words made Peytra fall silent.

  Meanwhile, on the hilly terrain far away from the battlefield of the ancient gods, a frost-clad black-haired young man fought against his flame-clad ancestor. It was a battle between two devastating forces, one seeking to bring eternal rest and the other seeking to unleash calamitous destruction. Their clashes produced an equally terrifying cacophony.

  Roel could feel his life force draining out, but he wasn’t fazed by it at all. His sharp golden eyes had been keeping a close look on the battlefield, and it allowed him to see through the crux of this battle.

  The key of victory here lay not in the fights between that of the ancient gods but the one between the mortals.