Born In Ashes: The Enigma

Azrael took a few deep breaths to clear his mind and was finally able to focus on the notifications that had flashed before his eyes earlier.

(You have killed Level 15: Alex.)

(You have killed Level 11: Vessel of Corruption, Rose.)

(You are at Level 10 and have not undergone your Class Ritual yet.)

(Complete your Class Ritual to continue leveling up.)

(All the extra energy you receive during this time will be accumulated and returned to you once you complete your Class Ritual.)

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Azrael merely glanced at these notifications and ignored them.

After reaching Level 10, one must go through the Class Ritual before continuing to level up. During this phase, all the energy gathered—whether through killing in Eonrift or by cultivating one's source core accumulates and the moment the ritual is completed, all of that stored energy is returned.

Since Azrael had killed a Level 15 and a Level 11 class warrior before completing his Class Ritual, he would likely reach at least the peak of Level 11 as soon as he finished it.

Azrael looked at the other notifications that he had received earlier and raised an eyebrow.

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(You have killed the Corrupted Tower Master.)

(You have completed your Eonrift Trial.)

(Do you want to leave Eonrift?)

[Yes/No]

=====

"Is this even a question?" Azrael was completely speechless and even felt the urge to curse.

His condition was already dire, and he needed urgent treatment. Only by leaving Eonrift could he heal completely.

Just as he was about to choose 'Yes,' Azrael suddenly felt a forbidden sensation wash over him— as if he were in grave danger.

He stopped his action immediately, and the ominous sensation slowly faded.

'What is this?' Azrael frowned as it was the first time he had ever experienced something like that.

He tried to choose 'Yes' again to leave Eonrift. But this time… he felt nothing.

Although he didn't feel anything the second time, Azrael refrained from confirming his departure as the memory of that dangerous sensation still lingered in his mind.

'Am I hallucinating?' Azrael rubbed his bloodied face with his right hand as even now, he was barely holding onto his consciousness that was on the verge of slipping into darkness.

'Damn, just what is going on?' For the first time, Azrael felt a deep sense of frustration, and he wanted to pull his own hair.

His heavily injured body, combined with that strange sense of looming danger was taking a serious toll on his mind.

"Calm down… calm down…" Azrael muttered to himself, taking a deep breath.

He closed his eyes and let Cold Blooded Trait clear his mind.

After a few seconds, he opened his now calm eyes and began to reflect, wondering if he had missed something.

Slowly, his entire time in Eonrift began playing through his mind—from the moment he had entered.

Using Infinite Comprehension, which placed an even greater burden on his already weak mind, he began to analyze everything.

From killing the Swift Tiger, to receiving his trial…

His meeting with Rudheer...

Going to New Moon City...

Staying at Rudheer's home...

Watching the three Tower Masters arrive for the recruitment event...

Stealing the Moon's Essence from the Titan Ape...

Every single moment flashed through his mind.

Azrael felt his head spinning, and blood began to flow from his nose. Processing that much information while nearly depleted of spiritual energy was no easy task, even for him.

About five minutes later, he finally recalled everything that had happened to him since entering Eonrift.

Once all the information was in his mind, he began to think about it carefully. As he pieced all the information together, he finally understood what was going on.

"So that's why it's called a Despair-Level Trial…" He murmured, wiping the blood from his nose before leaning back against the tree.

'I almost died…' He thought to himself, imagining what might have happened had he chosen to leave Eonrift earlier.

He sighed inwardly and stood up with difficulty.

"I need to recover some of my strength before I can complete my trial…" He muttered in a low voice, dragging his broken body away from the battlefield.

He glanced in Claudia's direction and saw that her life force had already vanished—she was dead.

Shaking his head in regret that he hadn't finished her off with his own hands to increase his accumulated energy, he turned around and began walking away.

Even though no one had arrived to investigate yet—since the fight had only just ended—he knew that others from the tower would soon come to inspect the area, and he didn't want to be there when that happened.

Azrael dragged his body into a deserted alleyway. It wasn't difficult, as most people had already fled the area because of the battle between Alex and Harris.

Walking through the alley, he reached the tall city wall. Taking out a grappling rope, he threw it up toward the wall. Once it hooked securely, he climbed with great effort and finally left the city without being seen.

After leaving the city, Azrael didn't head toward the forest, knowing it would be too dangerous in his current state.

Instead, he found a relatively deserted area and climbed a tree. From his inventory, he took out a wooden platform.

He tied it securely within the tree branches and, after setting up several alarm mechanisms for safety, he finally slumped down and allowed his consciousness to sink into dream space.

Time passed, and when Azrael awoke again, it was already nighttime.

He looked up at the brightly shining moon with a dazed expression before gradually regaining his awareness.

'I slept for more than twelve hours…' He thought to himself, judging by the moon's position.

Suddenly, his stomach growled loudly—as if rats were playing football inside it—and he sat up weakly.

Pulling out a large amount of food from his inventory, he began to devour it all and finally started to feel alive again.

After eating for nearly half an hour, Azrael finally felt full and patted his stomach in satisfaction.

He glanced at his missing left arm and took a deep breath.

'I hope I'll be able to recover it after leaving…' He muttered under his breath and turned his eyes in the direction of the city.

'The entire city must be in chaos right now because of the deaths of all the Tower Masters…' He thought, narrowing his eyes.

"Even though I can't use even 30% of my strength in my current state, this is the best time to finish everything and complete my trial."

Without wasting a moment, Azrael slowly climbed down from the tree and once again headed toward New Moon City.