Legacy of the Dark Sage

Nolan and Gustaff, who watched Kyran's progress outside, were left with a blank expression after the latter disappeared into the golden door.

Gustaff gave Nolan a side-way glance and said with a mocking tone, "'Just watch'?"

Nolan looked at him with raised brows and replied matter-of-factly, "The Tower doesn't allow people who had not challenged the champion to see the fight. What if you decided to enter the tower again and try the special place? If you already know what the Champion could do, wouldn't that give you an advantage?"

Gustaff snorted but did not argue further. He also understood that. But having his hopes of seeing some action dashed because of the tower's non-spoiler policy was a little depressing. He wanted to vent somehow.

With a sigh in his heart, Gustaff changed the subject by asking, "What do you think of his progress?"

Seemingly not bothered that Gustaff had asked another question while triggering his ability, Nolan replied straightforwardly, "Not what I expected. We've only seen him in action for a few challenges, but it is not enough to gauge how much progress he really had."

Nodding his head in acknowledgment, Gustaff also voiced his observation, "I am not familiar with his battle style, but if I compare it to a Regis I am familiar with, the great master Cade, they are very different. How to put it..."

He paused for a moment with furrowed his brows as if contemplating his following words before continuing, "Master Cade overwhelms his opponent with a barrage of never-ending attacks. But, on the other hand, Nar is..."

A smile tugged at a corner of Nolan's lips as he finished Gustaff's sentence, "Try to resolve everything with a one-hit attack?"

Gustaff scratched his head and nodded slowly, "Yeah. Its overwhelming in its own sense."

Nolan chuckled and did not deny or agree to Gustaff's assessment. Kyran's battle style indeed seemed that way, but he had seen how the kid fought when he could barely use his magic. While it was not similar to Cade's continuous attacks, it was pretty close. If Nolan noticed a difference between their combat style, it was how far one could read of the opponent's movement.

Cade could attack continuously because he could anticipate their next move and prepare numerous counterattacks. Kyran, on the other hand, could only read so far, and in the end, he tends to overthink, thus disrupting his momentum.

'Are you trying to cover for that flow by disabling your opponent in an instant? That won't do when you face an enemy with a higher level, not to mention a veteran in combat, both non-magic and magic,' Nolan thought.

It was for this reason that Nolan wanted Kyran to challenge the Champion. But, of course, he was aware that Cade was the Champion. Although the 'Cade' in there was only an essence, he represented Cade's younger self when his magic core was still intact.

Remembering about Cade's magic core, Nolan's expression turned grim. He subconsciously tightened his hold on his cloak pocket as he thought of the wooden slip he got from Stella.

The information about where Azaloth's inheritance was recorded in the wooden slip. Unfortunately, it had an advanced array fused in it and would be a challenge even to Nolan to decipher. It was not because it was beyond his capacity but because the array itself had been damaged. In order to crack the array, he first needed to restore it. To do this, he would need Kyran's help because Nolan was confident that Kyran's Array knowledge would improve by leaps and bounds inside the tower. Once Kyran stepped out, the two of them could work on restoring the wooden slip's array.

Regarding improving one's Array knowledge, Nolan was reminded of who Kyran learned Array, and he could not help but frown. Nolan was not looking down on Noir because he was a powerful Array Master. But Noir's knowledge was superficial, and Nolan did not want Kyran to have a bad 'habit' because of it.

Hopefully, everything Kyran learned about Array inside the tower would help fix any bad habit he might have. Not to mention, Nolan was sure Cade would also teach Kyran about what he knew once he realized their relationship.

"How long do you think Nar would last?"

Gustaff's question snapped Nolan out of his reverie. He turned to look at Gustaff and replied, "Depends. I have a feeling another reason why we can't watch his progress is because the Champion is not located inside the tower."

"Oh? You're right. Hmm... too bad we can't see it. I really want to see how he would fair with the Champion."

Nolan did not reply to Gustaff's comment and simply turned his attention back at the projection. Currently, it was still showing the room where the golden door was.

More than five hours later, the golden door emitted a blinding light that rendered the projection full white color.

After the light subsided, it revealed Kyran, laying on his back on the floor with the miniature armor hovering above him. When Kyran entered the door earlier, he still had a mask on. Now, it seemed he had removed it along the way.

Nolan immediately guessed that Kyran either revealed his identity voluntarily after seeing his father's essence or that Cade managed to force Kyran to remove it.

"Oh? He's back," Gustaff said, a sudden feeling of anticipation filling his heart.

Nolan also narrowed his eyes. They would be transported out of the room when one failed the challenge, which happened to Kyran.

Looking at the exhausted state of Kyran, Nolan thought of what he possibly went through in Cade's hands. He smiled bitterly and thought, 'Ah, seriously, Cade. Whether it's the real one or an essence, you really won't cut others a slack, especially your son.'

"He seems to be in one piece at least. I always thought the Champion would be cruel," Gustaff commented. "Hm... Maybe I can try it myself. Challenging the Champion."

Nolan did not respond and simply gave a slight smile. If Gustaff knew who the Champion was, knowing his attitude toward Cade, Nolan could already imagine him prostrating before Cade, saying he surrendered even before the challenge started.

"Anyway, I wonder what's next for him," Gustaff added.

Nolan suddenly sensed something as he touched his cloak pocket. A sinister smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he said, "What's next for him? It's judgment."

"What? Judgement?" Gustaff asked with raised brows. He turned to Nolan, just in time to see a golden array appearing underneath Nolan's feet.

Nolan chuckled after seeing Gustaff's incredulous expression.

"I told you. He entered the tower through recommendation. Since that is the case, every time he achieved a certain point, he will be judged, by the one who recommended him."

Gustaff suddenly felt sorry for Kyran as he saw the sinister glow in Nolan's eyes.

"Please be gentle," he told him.

Nolan burst out in laughter and did not reply. Instead, the golded array on his feet spun at an incredible speed, and soon he was engulfed by a blinding light.

Gustaff was forced to close his eyes, and when the light faded and he could once again open his eyes, Nolan was gone.

Back at the tower, after getting transported out of the Champion's room, Kyran lay on the floor.

He wanted to pass out, but for some reason, his over fatigue body and mind would not let him.

"We're finally out of that hellhole! Freedom! Freedom!" True Void rejoiced as he hovered above him.

Kyran chuckled, but he stopped abruptly because even the slight movement caused his whole body to ache. He actually preferred the pain he experienced when he took the Elixir. At least then, he passed out from the pain, unlike this time, where he had to endure it.

Still, Kyran felt satisfied. Especially with all the things that he had learned.

In five days, the things Cade taught were nothing Kyran had expected. Unlike the body-tempering techniques, combat strategies, and defensive techniques his father taught, this time, he learned array assimilation and different types of magic combat.

Array assimilation was another form of magic battle. It was when an Array Master combined magic arrays and array formation into one during combat. Though it appeared similar to what Kyran did in Olivia's platform, it was actually different. After all, materials would not always be available for an Array Master to create formations during battle.

As for the magic combat, Kyran was rendered speechless at Cade's knowledge. He was not only knowledgeable in dealing with one specialization of mages but all. Even those specializations not present in the Human plane were taught to Kyran.

This broadened Kyran's horizon once again.

Kyran might have learned a lot inside the Knowledge Room, but what he learned were theories. Application-wise, he had not tried everything. He thought challenging all the platform masters would let him practice. Unfortunately, due to the strange moods of most platform masters, Kyran ended up finishing the challenge before they changed their rules again.

But with Cade's guidance, Kyran learned and practiced to his heart's content.

No. Scratch that.

Kyran was already content at some point, but Cade continued and did not stop until the fifth day was up.

Still, when Kyran and True Void were transported out of Cade's room, he admitted he was a little reluctant. But there was no point lingering and accompanying his father's essence. Kyran had to leave and save the real one along with the rest of the clan as soon as possible.

"Well, it is unfortunate that although you survived the five days, you still failed to win the Champion."

Kyran looked at True Void incredulously, 'You're still thinking about that? It's already good that I can come out of there in one piece.'

True Void looked at him and tilted his head, "Why are you even talking to me telepathically."

Kyran gave him a dull expression and replied, 'Do you need to ask?'

"BAHAHAHA! Are you that tired you can't even open your own mouth? BAHAHAHA! So weak. Weak! I'll call you Void Weakling from now on."

Kyran ignored him.

Just as he was about to resume his rest, a beam of light appeared above and fell on them.

"Oh! Are we going to be transported to the Recovery Room now? Good, good. That way Void Weakling here can recover well. BAHAHAHA!"

Black lines appeared on Kyran's head at True Void. But he refrained from replying and simply let the beam of light transport them out of the room.

Contrary to their expectation, Kyran and True Void was not transported to the Recovery Room.

When the light faded, they found themselves inside a gray space.

Seeing this space, made Kyran's scalp go numb.

He knew this space. He had been here twice in the past, and both times did not start well.

Ignoring his exhaustion, Kyran sat up. Before he could say anything, he heard a chuckle from behind, and a familiar voice spoke.

"Don't worry. I'll give you time to rest. Since I am such a nice guy, I'll even give you a pill so you can recover faster."

Kyran's eyes widened. It was also the same with True Void as he exclaimed in Kyran's head.

[Not good! Not good! AAAHHH! I'm out! Out! I tell you!]

With that, he seemed to have 'lost' control over the miniature armor as it fell on the ground with a loud thud.

Black lines appeared on Kyran's head as he glared at True Void. He wanted to scold him for 'running away,' but in the end, he steeled himself and turned to look at the owner of the voice.

The owner of the voice, of course, was Nolan.

Right now, his expression was filled with a sinister glow which instantly made Kyran sense an impending crisis.