Born In Ashes: The Enigma

Even before Azrael reached the new moon city, he could see the tall walls that completely surrounded it.

Due to the presence of monsters, it was necessary to construct protective walls around the city to ensure its safety from dangerous creatures.

Two guards, both around level three, stood watch at the city's entrance. They merely glanced at Azrael and Rudheer as they arrived, showing no real interest in them.

Azrael followed Rudheer and entered the city alongside him. Since it was already nighttime, not many people could be seen on the streets.

Even though it was only around nine o'clock, most of the shops were already closing.

Azrael briefly glanced at the few people still moving about before shifting his gaze toward three tall structures located in different directions of the city.

In the northwest stood a tall golden tower, in the northeast a black tower, and in the southeast a blue one.

The golden tower was the Juri Tower, the black one was the Magic Tower, and the blue one was the Knight Tower.

"Do you have a place to stay?" Rudheer's voice pulled Azrael out of his thoughts.

Azrael looked at him and shook his head.

"No. As I said before, it's my first time in New Moon City," He replied. Then, before Rudheer could respond, he asked.

"If it's not too much trouble, may I stay at your house just for tonight?"

Rudheer hesitated at Azrael's request, but after a moment, he gave a small nod.

"Please come with me."

Azrael followed Rudheer until they arrived in front of a small house.

Rudheer stepped forward and unlocked the door. The house was around 500 square feet, with minimal furniture. There was a small living room, one bathroom, a side area for the kitchen, and two rooms.

There was no one in the house, and Rudheer first led Azrael to the bathroom so he could clean himself after spending the entire day in the forest.

Inside the bathroom was a wooden bucket. Azrael filled it with cold water from the tap and took a quick bath.

After bathing, he took out a new set of clothes from his storage ring and, after changing, stepped outside.

Rudheer, who was sitting on a chair in the living room saw him coming out and pointed toward one of the rooms.

"You can stay in that room for tonight," He said. "I have already cleaned it. If you need anything, let me know, and I will see what I can do."

Azrael nodded and thanked him before heading inside the room.

They had eaten not long ago before leaving the forest, so neither of them was hungry.

Once inside, Azrael closed the door and frowned.

From the moment they entered the house, Azrael had noticed that Rudheer seemed nervous about something.

After bringing him here, Rudheer had quickly directed him to take a bath, and the moment Azrael emerged, he promptly told him where he would be staying— almost as if he wanted Azrael inside the room as soon as possible.

Not only that, but because his senses were extremely sharp due to the mid-level Breathing Method, Azrael noticed something unusual about the second room in the house.

There was also a very faint smell coming from it, suggesting that the room hadn't been opened for a long time.

'What is this guy trying to hide?'

Azrael hadn't come to Rudheer's house simply because he had nowhere else to stay.

He could have easily found an inn or even stayed outside without any real issue. But the reason he chose to come with Rudheer was because he knew this man was hiding something from him.

He was in a trial, and every piece of information could prove to be crucial.

Since Rudheer was trying to conceal something, Azrael decided to stay with him in order to observe and possibly uncover it.

'Well, whatever he is hiding, he won't be able to hide it forever…' He thought, shifting his gaze around the room.

There was only a bed and a desk inside.

Azrael first inspected the room carefully to ensure there was nothing suspicious.

Only after confirming everything was normal did he sit down on the bed.

After sitting, he opened his inventory and looked at one of the items inside, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

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---) Sky Mist Flower: A rare herb that allows its consumer to enter a state of calm, thereby enhancing their comprehension abilities and completely stabilizing their mind. No matter what emotions the consumer was experiencing, as long as the herb's effects lasted, their mind would remain tranquil.

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The Sky Mist Flower was something he had found in the forest when he left Rudheer's side for five minutes.

"From what Mom told me, people aren't supposed to obtain anything during their trial in Eonrift…" He muttered in a low voice. "If that's the case, then what was this thing doing there?"

During their trial in Eonrift, people wouldn't come across any treasure, herb, artifact, or anything similar.

In simple terms, it was impossible to obtain anything from Eonrift's trial other than the final reward.

However, Azrael not only discovered the Sky Mist Herb, but he also managed to store it in his inventory— meaning he could actually take it out of this place after completing his trial.

Azrael thought for a moment, and the only conclusion he could come to was the level of his trial.

The information Ashara gave him was only valid for trials up to the Hell Level.

But he was undergoing a Despair Level Trial, so it was only natural that some things would be different.

Azrael took a deep breath but didn't use the Sky Mist Flower as it wasn't of any help to him.

'Despair Level Trial…' He muttered inwardly, shaking his head.

Honestly, the monsters he had encountered in the forest could truly throw newly awakened individuals into complete despair.

The very first monster he fought—Swift Tiger— was a level five beast, and its agility was way higher than normal monsters of level 5.

Azrael's stat points were significantly higher than even the most talented individuals who had just awakened, but even then, if not for Fallen Star, his deadly Soul Armament, he would have needed to exert considerable effort to kill it.

So what about others?

Not only were their stats much lower than Azrael's, but they also didn't possess a Soul Armament like Fallen Star and had to rely on regular weapons to fight.

All things considered, if someone else had entered a Despair Level Trial, they would most likely have died right at the beginning, killed by the Swift Tiger.

Even if they somehow managed to defeat it, they wouldn't have stood a chance against the Mud Crocodile, which was far more powerful than the Swift Tiger.

If Azrael hadn't saved Rudheer from the Mud Crocodile, he wouldn't have gained early information about New Moon City and would've definitely missed the recruitment event that would take place the day after tomorrow.

This event would give trial participants a chance to witness the three Tower Masters, making it incredibly important, so missing this event would have increased the difficulty of trial even higher.