Born In Ashes: The Enigma

The three tower masters walked over to the platform and took their seats.

None of them even bothered to give a speech or say anything, as this event was merely a formality they were obligated to carry out due to the Royal Family of the Red Rock Country.

To provide opportunities for talented individuals who couldn't afford the entry fees to the towers, events like this were organized all across the country each year.

After all, in order to run a country and maintain stability, the presence of skilled individuals was essential.

Harris, the tower master of Juri Tower sat in the frontmost seat. Beside him sat a beautiful woman with long black hair and brown eyes. She appeared to be around thirty years old, wearing a red dress, and had a gentle expression on her face as she observed the crowd.

Her name was Rose—Harris's wife and a level 10 Star Warrior, just one step away from reaching Class level and unlocking her class.

From what Azrael had heard from people, she used to be a noble, but had fallen in love with Harris—who was not of noble origin and married him.

But Harris's origin did not matter much, because, at least in the New Moon City, Harris's position wasn't inferior to that of any noble.

Just slightly behind Harris's seat sat Claudia and Alax. There were several other people from the three towers as well, all of whom stood respectfully behind the tower masters with composed and solemn expressions.

Claudia was appointed as a Tower Master at the same time as Harris, almost six years ago.

However, Alex was appointed as the Tower Master two years ago after the former master of the Knight Tower died under mysterious circumstances, with the cause of death remaining unknown.

Once the three tower masters were seated, a man swiftly approached the open area in the city center square and announced the beginning of the event.

The participants of the event had to register beforehand. The man pulled out a list of the registered candidates and called out the names of fifty people at once.

The individuals whose names were called immediately stepped into the open area.

A total of forty-eight people came forward, which meant that two either didn't show up or were late.

No one paid attention to the two missing participants, and the forty-eight who were present began their demonstrations without delay.

To join the Magic Tower, one only needed to possess a certain amount of cosmic energy.

From what Azrael had heard, as long as someone was below seventeen years old and had fifty or more points in cosmic energy, they could gain free admission into the Magic Tower.

However, having fifty points of cosmic energy at the age of sixteen or younger was extremely rare.

Only individuals with an exceptionally high affinity for cosmic energy could reach such a number at that age.

Even in Genesis, aside from elves, very few people could surpass 100 cosmic energy points at the age of sixteen—right after their awakening.

The Knight Tower's test was different from the Magic Tower's. Instead of focusing on the quantity of cosmic energy, it prioritized control.

As long as a person could decently control the cosmic energy within their body to enhance their physical capabilities, they would be eligible for the Knight Tower.

Azrael looked at the people who had stepped forward to demonstrate for a few seconds before losing interest and shifting his focus to the three tower masters sitting about five meters away from his position.

He activated his Cold Blooded trait to its maximum, erasing all emotions and achieving a state of absolute mental clarity.

Simultaneously, Infinite Comprehension came into effect, allowing him to observe everything around him in vivid detail—even the micro-expressions of those nearby.

Focusing his eyes on the three tower masters, he began trying to perceive their emotions.

For the first few seconds, he felt nothing. But as his senses expanded, he gradually began picking up faint traces of their emotional states.

Through Infinite Comprehension, he analyzed the subtlest movements of their bodies, and the names of the emotions they were experiencing surfaced in his mind automatically.

Boredom, annoyance, disdain, anger—he could sense a wide range of feelings.

The most dominant emotions were boredom, irritation, and anger at having to sit there and watch these low-level participants.

Azrael frowned as he couldn't detect the destructive emotions that the Vessel of Corruption were supposed to possess.

Just yesterday, he had gathered additional information from several more people to verify that Rudheer wasn't lying to him... and similar to what Rudheer said, they also told him that the Vessel of Corruptions were consumed by violent emotions and harbored a desire to destroy everything in sight.

'Could it be that they all lied to me to make my trial even more difficult?' Azrael wondered as he continued to read their emotional states.

However, even after half an hour, he didn't find a single clue.

'What's the problem here?'

Using both of his traits at full capacity was extremely taxing, and even Azrael began to feel the strain—especially from Infinite Comprehension, which was flooding his mind with nonstop information from his surroundings.

'Maybe... the one who is Vessel of Corruption among them has excellent control over their destructive urges…' He speculated suddenly, narrowing his eyes.

'If that's the case, then disturbing or riling up their emotional state—forcing them into rage, grief, fear, or something equally powerful that destroy their control over their emotions might be enough to expose their true nature.'

Azrael pondered the idea and felt it was worth attempting.

But the question was—how should he disturb their emotions?

As he was thinking, he suddenly sensed a distinct emotion coming from two people sitting on the platform… and a moment later, the number became three.

Azrael was caught off guard by the nature of this emotion, and his expression turned strange.

He looked carefully at Claudia—the tower master of the Magic Tower, Alex—the tower master of the Knight Tower, and Rose—wife of Harris, the tower master of Juri Tower.

'What are these three planning?' He wondered as he meticulously read their body language through Infinite Comprehension, quickly forming a hypothesis in his mind.

'To think I missed all this because I was too focused on sensing destructive emotions from the Vessel of Corruption...' He reflected silently and began devising a new plan to uncover the true Vessel.

After a few minutes of thinking, he pulled out a minuscule object from his inventory— slightly smaller than a small mosquito.

He glanced at the people sitting on the platform, then flicked his finger, sending the tiny object flying toward one of the individuals.

The object landed precisely on his chosen target.

Once he confirmed that the item was at right place, without looking back or doing anything else, Azrael turned around and quietly walked away from the city center.