The arena disappeared.
In its place, a cave appeared behind the waterfall. All that was left for me was to claim the reward.
In front of me stood a translucent old man, about 180 centimeters tall, with gray hair and eyes whose color constantly shifted, as if reflecting different hues of reality itself. He gave off a strange pressure, as if the space around him became denser just by his presence.
Old man, I passed, didn't I? So what's the reward?
I asked impatiently. I already knew what it would be, but I didn't want to drag it out.
Young ones are always impatient. Don't worry, only an hour has passed outside.
So even his illusions can manipulate time perception to that extent. Distorting consciousness and time at this level is rare.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that no matter how curious I was about how his technique worked, now was not the time. The residual will of this place was already fading. And it was obvious anyway that this was his personal inheritance.
Well, since you're in such a hurry, — the old man began, narrowing his eyes.
Take your reward.
And suddenly, a sharp pain exploded in my head. It was worse than when I received Viren's memories. For a moment, I lost my sense of direction.
About five minutes later, the pain subsided, and I felt my consciousness expand.
Finally, I thought.
I began to examine the information directly poured into my sea of consciousness. Symbols and knowledge surfaced on their own, forming a structured technique.
Breath of the Moon — 9★
This technique increases mana density and recovery speed depending on the phase of the moon.
New Moon (no moon) — -20% mana recovery speed and density
Young/Old Moon — -9%
First/Last Quarter — -11%
Waxing/Waning Moon — -13%
Full Moon — +15%
It does not work in enclosed spaces.
A 9★ technique really was broken in terms of efficiency and conditions, but extremely restrictive at the same time.
I would have preferred an aura cultivation technique… but no one simply passes those down. This old man was, in a sense, the only one of his kind who managed to leave behind such an inheritance.
Well, I got what I came for, so it's time to return.
I left the cave and headed toward the carriage.
Inside, the coachman was already waiting for me. Looking at me, he seemed visibly confused, as if he couldn't understand what had changed about me.
Young master.
Take me back.
I replied indifferently.
We set off. I looked out the window, thinking about what to do next.
I was leaning more toward a universal development path rather than pure magic. Although I could obtain resources and study magical theory, it simply wasn't for me. I hate studying. Even back in school, it always gave me a headache.
Lost in thought, I didn't even notice when I fell asleep.
Halfway through the journey, we were stopped by bandits. They burst into the carriage and woke me up. Five men.
2 First Rank, 3 with cores but no rings. All weak. No formal training.
I killed them all in 5 minutes. The coachman was terrified. I threw away and burned the cloak. The coachman recognized me, and before he could say anything, I ordered him to continue. Soon we were in the city. It was already evening. I took a train and returned to my home city. The train ride was uneventful.
Finally, I'm home.
The servants noticed a change in my behavior. Although I thought it wasn't significant, all the deaths I experienced in the First Trial couldn't have left me unchanged. After taking a bath, I went to sleep.