Tower of Heaven

The light was almost too subtle to be noticed, but faintly, one could make out the image of two dragons crashing into the tomb guardian.

The massive golem was forced to take two steps back. Capitalizing on the opportunity, Akia did a sweep with his spear, slamming its metal pole into the golem's leg.

If qi didn't exist, an attack like this would be meaningless.

However, the mysterious energy of this world had a property that allowed it to become harder than any material known to man as long as one had the proper strength.

Of course, that level was impossible for an Earth Sage, but this trial was at a level that Earth Sages could handle.

Which meant that the level Akia could reach was more than enough.

Bang!

The golem's body trembled as it lost its balance. Akia launched himself into the air and climbed it, reaching its torso and stabbing his spear straight into its chestplate.

Boom!

Akia was dealing huge damage. Watching him, the other two realized that they wouldn't be able to do a thing if they didn't act now.

Selia rushed in, forgoing her usual style of doing things. Brandishing her fan, she used qi without holding anything back.

Xiu! Xiu! Xiu!

The wind blades littered the air. Tens of them were released at once. Akia was forced to be mindful of the incoming barrage and jump off of the golem's chest as it struck.

Selia's aim wasn't perfect. The wind blades created several small cracks in the golem's armor, but they didn't overlap enough to do real damage.

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Nevertheless, Selia wasn't planning to get rid of the momentum so easily.

She charged inward because she had also learned various martial arts techniques. It was impossible for a child from a large society to live without being skilled in both close and long-ranged combat.

Unlike the flashy and domineering martial path that Akia followed, Selia's movements were flowing and natural. She used strikes that didn't seem able to do much damage, but the principle of her technique was not instant damage.

The golem had fallen due to Akia's efforts and couldn't easily stand up. It was surrounded by flames that continued to spout from its right arm, making it difficult to approach.

'Wind, come.'

Pushing her pam out, Selia released a burst of wind qi that moved the flames aside and cleared a path for her. By using it, she was able to reach the same area that her wind blades struck earlier.

Palm after palm, she attacked it. The reverberations of her qi spread through the golem's body and created an array of hairline cracks that spread across its body.

'Isn't this…too easy?'

Selia had the thought while she was attacking it. The golem wasn't attacking very frequently and its body was easier to destroy than it looked. It was almost like…

'...it is a fake.'

Selia didn't have the time to consider her findings.

Her palm struck the golem once again and completely shattered the tomb guardian's outer armor. The wind pressure continued forward and destroyed the core within.

And, in the same instant, Selia felt something warm in her chest.

"Keuk…"

She looked down with widened eyes. The pain didn't come until later, so the first thing she felt was confusion.

There was a…spear?

How did it get there?

The bloody blade was completely outside of the front of her body. The pole was covered in warm blood, its body supporting Selia for the last few seconds of her life.

She tried to turn her head, but it didn't move. She could only look out of the side of her eye to barely see the bloody body on the ground a few meters away.

"Ak…ia…" she muttered

She knew the name of the person who killed her.

"Go to sleep, Selia. In your next life, choose a better influence to latch onto."

Akia pulled his spear out of her body, showering himself in her blood. As she fell to the floor, he grinned to himself.

"It'll be easy from here on."

Arslan was never a problem. He put down his guard when he was trying to get to the golem since he presumed that the other two were doing the same. He was able to get rid of that one before he even understood what was happening.

He allowed Selia to destroy the golem because he understood the same thing that she did. It was a decoy. Within its remains was the key to the door, but behind that door was the real challenge for him to face.

He opened it without a problem and continued forward. The next being he saw was a golem that looked exactly the same as the previous one.

The only difference was that this one was real.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Akia went to work. The golem was far faster now and attacked properly, so he was forced to dodge and weave. With his spear tactics and the techniques of Dusk, he was able to take care of it alone.

The previous golem made him confident. It showed him where the weaknesses of this one would be, so despite taking several minutes, he was able to take it down. When the core cracked and turned into particles, what remained was a mysterious stone.

Akia reached for it.

But…

Wasn't he forgetting something?

At that exact moment, a chain lashed out.

Bang!

It missed the mysterious stone, but landed directly in front of it and forced Akia to step back.

Whoosh!

The clanging of the chain as it rapidly shortened was the only thing Akia heard before the stone was gone.

Still, he processed the events instantly.

"YOU…!"

His figure turned into a blur as he gave chase to the shadow that was already escaping.

"COME BACK HERE!"

Just like Selia before him, he knew exactly who ruined his opportunity. That stone was not just any item. It was a Miracle Stone, an item with a monstrous number of beneficial uses.

Not only was it a treasure on its own, but it was clearly the delineator that separated the victor of this trial from the losers.

If Akia didn't have it, then what was the point of all of this time and fighting?

His every step was filled with rage. Qi bolstered his moves and sent him flying over the ground at speeds that allowed him to catch up to the thief he chased.

However, the environment was not going to support him. As they progressed into the depths, the path became fractured. Random cubes of rock floated in the air and platforms that were difficult to reach were the only flat ground that the geniuses could walk on.

Dexterity became more important than speed, and dexterity was a speciality that Atlas found in this life.

The story of events was far less sudden from his perspective. In fact, he had quite a bit of free time before he stole the Miracle Stone.

Akia was really an idiot, though he didn't appear like one on the outside.

Everything that led up to Atlas stealing the key began with him.

His first mistake was looking down on someone who was able to collect more than fifty keys in the chaos of the first corridor.

And now, all he was facing were the consequences of his actions.

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