Elder's trial (2)

I leaped to the top of the altar, where an artifact and a white envelope rested.

The artifact was a small orb the size of a baseball, and it had a chain attached to it. The orb appeared to have some kind of red liquid inside, and it emanated an unfathomable aura.

I turned my focus to the envelope that was resting right beside the artifact, and after pondering for a moment, I picked it up and opened it.

"What did you find, Oswald?" Nina asked me from the bottom.

"There's an artifact and an envelope up here," I said.

"An artifact?! What kind?"

"I'll bring it down for you to see later. Let me see what's inside this envelope first."

I pulled out a piece of paper from inside the envelope and read it out loud.

"My name is Edgar Darkmore, also known as the 'Elder'. I am an Otherworlder. If you wish to seek my legacy, pick up the 'Elder's Orb of Restraints' to activate the trial."

"Trial…?" Nina mumbled in a low voice after hearing this word.

I picked up the artifact on the altar and said, "He must be talking about this artifact."

Ia jumped down from the altar and showed Nina the artifact.

"T-This thing contains an overwhelming amount of mana!" Nina was so shocked by what she saw with her Spiritual Eyes that she fell backwards and landed on her buttocks.

"Do you know what kind of artifact it is?" I asked her.

"N-No… But it's definitely an S-Rank artifact," she said in a trembling voice.

Dong!

The entire chamber suddenly shook for a few seconds startling us.

"Oswald! Look at the altar!" Nina suddenly pointed at the altar behind me and exclaimed.

I turned around to see the black altar had suddenly become bright red.

Then, a familiar voice resounded in the chamber, "The Elder's Trial will begin now. Defeat all of the monsters to clear it. There are no restrictions for this trial."

"Oswald, get ready to fight! They're coming!" Nina exclaimed as over a hundred magic circles suddenly appeared all over the chamber.

Over the next several moments, over a hundred monsters were summoned into the chamber.

Nina immediately chugged a mana potion before summoning 200 skeleton warriors and 20 skeleton mages.

"Be careful! I don't recognize these monsters!" Nina said to us as she commanded her skeletons to attack these unknown monsters.

However, when the skeleton warriors attacked these monsters, their weapons were deflected from the monster's body, almost as though there was an invisible barrier protecting these monsters.

"What?!" Nina was shocked to see that her skeleton warriors were ineffective against these monsters.

"Let me try!" I approached the nearest monster and swung my scythe at it.

*Whoosh!*

The scythe slashed through the monster easily.

"These monsters are stronger than monsters before."

"Then let me try magic!" Nina commanded her skeleton mages to attack the monsters.

The ground shook slightly afterward.

However, when the dust settled and Nina saw the results, she was dumbfounded, as the monsters remained unharmed by the attack.

"These are Obsidian Ghouls! They're A-Rank monsters with ridiculous defensive capabilities!" Lilith said to me when she finally recognized these monsters.

"Just A-rank? I was expecting something more from a otherworlder."

Suddenly, these Obsidian Ghouls that had been standing still like a statue began moving simultaneously, raising their staffs and wands towards my and Nina's direction.

"They're going to attack!" Lilith shouted in a panicked voice.

"Well then... Let me finish this quickly." I said before charging my scythe with magic and slashing towards the obsidian ghouls.

A few moments later, Edgar Darkmore's voice resounded in the chamber, "Congratulations on passing the trial. You probably used the Elder's Orb of Restraints in order to do so, which is completely fine because that was my intention in the first place. How did you like it— my creation? The Elder's Orb of Restraints is an S-Rank artifact that can seal the movements of all nearby enemies and even decrease their defenses significantly. However, what you've witnessed is just the tip of my prowess— a small taste of what you can acquire if you have my legacy! If you were impressed by it, you will definitely be shocked by what else I have in store for you… implying that you are willing to accept my legacy!"

These kind of artifact's are considered strong? Just a S-rank artifact is nowhere near enough to impress me.

"If you wish to find my legacy, I have left a clue in the Elder's Orb of Restraints that will lead you to the location of the next trial."

"This is all for now. Until next time, Worthy One."

The voice disappeared.

"Now what…?" Nina mumbled in a dazed voice.

I stared at the elder's orb of restraints and looked at my system screen.

{Would you like to extract unique affinity : creation affinity - supreme grade?}

Yes.

<Successfully acquired creation affinity of supreme grade.>

<Affinity upgraded to infinity grade >

"I think-"

Before I could even finish my sentence, the altar beside us suddenly radiated with a blue light, and a massive magic circle that covered the entire chamber suddenly appeared.

We disappeared from the chamber shortly afterward.

After being teleported out of the chamber, We found themselves outside the cave.

"Huh? This looks like the entrance to the cave." Nina mumbled.

The ground suddenly started shaking, and right before our very eyes, the cave entrance collapsed on itself.

"…"

"I hope there's nobody in there…" I thought.

Ding!

<You have completed a Special Quest>

[+300,000 Magic Experience, 1,500 Magic Points]

"What an experience that was…" Nina suddenly sat on the ground with a look of disbelief on her face.

"I'll set up the tent so we can rest." I said to her before setting up the tent right in front of the collapsed cave entrance.

We would proceed to wash their bodies and eat some food without uttering a single word to each other.

Once she finished her food, Nina looked at me and stared at me in silence.

"If you have something to say, say it." I said.

"What are you going to do now? Are you going to continue looking for his legacy?" She asked me.

"…"

After pondering for a moment, I shook my head, " These artifacts are not enough to impress me. I already have much better artifacts."

"Figured so..." Nina sighed with a relieved smile.