Born In Ashes: The Enigma

Inside the Tower of Trials...

A man with shoulder-length snow-white hair panted heavily, his body covered in countless wounds, and his light blue armor soaked in crimson blood. He stood in the middle of a dimly lit, cave-like space, with walls all around him encased in thick ice.

The man's light blue eyes were filled with exhaustion, yet they couldn't conceal the joy shining within them.

(Level 7 has been completed.)

The mechanical voice of the tower of trials echoed, and he watched as the body of a level 20 elite vampire slowly disintegrated into particles.

The man's name was Luo Bingqing, a level 15 Class Warrior who had completed his Eonrift Trial back in January.

During the six months since then, he had raised his level to 15, learned several useful skills, and also found a suitable subsentce, Rune, and other power components for himself.

All in all, his power system was nearly complete, and he could now be considered a strong individual among Class Rank Warriors.

"I knew the difficulty would increase at Level 7, but I didn't expect to face a level 20 elite vampire," He muttered under his breath with a sigh.

"The time I took to defeat this guy was longer than I expected. I hope the others mess up too, and their clear time for Level 7 ends up being worse than mine."

(Do you want to proceed to Level 8?)

As the voice of the tower echoed in his ears, Luo Bingqing hesitated for a moment before shaking his head.

"Send me out."

He had already exhausted everything he had during Level 7, and even if he entered Level 8 now, he knew he wouldn't be able to accomplish anything.

He had run out of cosmic energy and could barely recover a few points in three minutes.

As his voice echoed, the scenery around him began to crumble, and he was immediately teleported out of the tower.

****

At the same time—

A woman with long brown hair and green eyes also completed Level 7 trial. After hesitating for a brief moment, she chose to proceed to Level 8.

At Level 8, she faced two level 20 elite monsters and was killed in less than five seconds.

****

Similar scenes unfolded throughout the Tower of Trials.

Though a few of those who had completed their Eonrift Trials in January managed to pass Level 7, not a single one was able to clear Level 8.

After claiming his rewards, Azrael was also sent out of the tower, reappearing at the entrance from where he had initially entered.

However, before he could even properly look around after coming out, an unstoppable force enveloped his body.

The world around him blurred, and when he regained his senses, he found himself standing beside Ashara at the top of the Tower of Trials.

Aside from Ashara, he also noticed the presence of the woman who had appeared on the screen to explain the Eonrift rules during their Eonrift trial.

She was standing quietly nearby, observing him with a smile.

"Eight levels, not bad," Ashara said, patting his shoulder with a pleased look on her face.

Azrael nodded calmly, though he was a little surprised Ashara already knew that he had passed eight levels inside the Tower of Trials.

Noticing the confusion on his face, Ashara pointed at the woman.

"She is the vice principal of the Slayers Academy—Mira. She used her authority over the tower to monitor your performance."

"Oh..." Azrael nodded in realization and turned to face Mira.

"Hello, Vice Principal Mira."

Mira returned the greeting with a nod and spoke with a smile.

"Your control over cosmic energy is excellent, and your use of wind power is top-grade. If I am not mistaken, you have already reached the entry level in the Cosmic Energy Breathing Method, haven't you?"

Ashara smirked inwardly upon hearing Mira's words and couldn't help but wonder what kind of expression she would make after learning that Azrael had already reached the mid-level of the Breathing Method.

However, since Azrael had just met Mira and knew nothing about her, he didn't intend to reveal too much and simply nodded.

"I was quite lucky and managed to find the 20 primary energy veins, allowing me to reach the entry level of the Breathing Method."

Though she had already suspected it, Mira was still somewhat surprised to hear that Azrael had reached the entry level of the Breathing Method at such an early stage.

She nodded approvingly and asked,

"Do you want to join the Slayers Academy?"

"Yes, Vice Principal," Azrael responded immediately.

"There is no problem with that. Not only did you complete eight levels in the Tower of Trials, but even based solely on your cosmic energy control and your top-level utilization of wind power, you'd qualify for the Slayers Academy."

She paused before continuing,

"The academy will officially start in three days, once the assessment trials for new students are over. I will handle all the formalities regarding your admission, so you don't need to worry about anything."

Ashara rolled her eyes when she heard Mira say she would take care of all the formalities herself.

Azrael also found her enthusiasm a little odd, but he still thanked her for her help.

"You can go back for now. Don't forget to come to the academy in three days," Mira said, then added.

"By the way, if you'd like, you can also visit the academy during these three days to get familiar with the place."

Azrael nodded at her words and after thanking her again, he looked at Ashara.

"Let's go," Ashara said as she enveloped him in her cosmic energy and flew away from the tower.

As they flew off, Mira's voice echoed in Ashara's mind.

"Witch, think about what I said earlier."

Ashara didn't respond to Mira's words, but the thoughtful look in her eyes made it clear that she was seriously contemplating what Mira had told her.

'A legacy of a wind power user, huh...' She thought, glancing sideways at Azrael.

'I will tell him and let him decide what he wants to do.'