Ch 60 - Ascension Trials & Judgement (Part 2)

"How come you know so much about the 2nd trial?" I asked Trisha, curious about her knowledge.

Trisha nodded in response. "Yes, we had one of these trees in my master's villa. It was quite efficient for training one's mana supply."

I remembered that Trisha came from a noble background, just like me. However, her family had been stripped of their title of nobility, yet she and the other Valencia knights still remained loyal to their old master.

As Trisha spoke, the other candidates took a step back, clearly realizing that there was a noble among them. Despite her status, Trisha was quite amiable with the commoners, which made me feel disgusted. I am a pessimistic person, and I find Trisha's morality repulsive. To me, there are two types of "good people" in the world: the "two-faced" ones who act good in front of others, and the "dumb" ones who get exploited until their death. Neither type lives long enough.

Meanwhile, the rest of the candidates' eyes shone with a newfound respect for Trisha. They admired her noble character and kind heart.

"Why are you all staring at me like that?" asked Trisha, noticing their gaze.

"She's such a beautiful soul!" muttered one candidate.

"Her heart is made of gold," said another.

"Please marry me, Lady Trisha," said yet another.

Trisha was clearly creeped out by their sudden admiration. "You guys are creeping me out. Anyway, we should focus on the next trial."

As the third trial commenced, all eyes were fixed on Mathew as he stood in front of the mummified exoskeleton of what appeared to be a humanoid figure. The exoskeleton was adorned with numerous gemstones embedded in its ribcage, and it was made to sit in a meditating posture.

Mathew stood behind the exoskeleton, and as he approached it, he noticed two hand-palm prints engraved on the back of the exoskeleton. The Grandmasters were intently watching him, and even the Ivory Tower guys who were previously rowdy, were now quietly munching on their food.

As soon as Mathew's hand came into contact with the back of the exoskeleton, there was a rattling noise of bones twisting. In the next instant, some of the ribcage bones flipped on the back and entrapped Mathew's hand in place. Startled, Mathew shouted, "Aah! Sir, is this supposed to happen!"

Grandmaster Biswaq quickly assured Mathew, "Yes, no need to worry. Just focus and stay quiet."

However, the exoskeleton started to move, and its bones began to rattle and twist as if they were undergoing a transformation. Mathew's hands were stuck, and he couldn't free himself. He tried pulling off his hand, but it was no use. Biswaq noticed Mathew's nervousness and reassured him, "Don't panic, Mathew. You'll be just fine!"

But the next instant, the exoskeleton straightened its back and raised both his skeletal arms in the air.

All the candidates let out gasped voices.

"Holy shit, that thing is alive?" muttered Hendrickson.

"Well if it can raise its arm like that, I think it's alive."

"Well to be honest I have a rough guess what that thing is," responded Trisha.

We all waited for her to respond.

"According to the books I read, that exoskeleton resembles the skeletal remains of the Bone Devourer Tribe. They were a special humanoid species that used to live long ago. They are said to be a bloodthirsty species that went extinct long ago."

Confused, Hendrickson asked,

"Bone Divorce Tribe?"

Trisha corrected him, "Bone Devourer Tribe. They were said to be able to eat mages and monsters to gain their abilities. Although they were said to have to be killed in a great war. I thought they were just a myth, but this seems to say otherwise. Although I am not 100%."

As the exoskeleton raised its arms, Mathew tried to start a conversation with it, "Dear Sir, sorry for disturbing your sleep. Just let go of my hands," but to no avail.

Hamanthra looked a bit annoyed and muttered,

"This is why I hate kids,".

Grandmaster Biswaq shook his head and let out a sigh. Meanwhile, Grandmaster Ajax laughed loudly, finding all this to be quite amusing.

A loud cracking sound emanated from the exoskeleton, and the next instant, six skeletal arms appeared from the exoskeleton's abdomen like a spring. Now, it had a total of eight arms, similar to that of Mathew's transmutant form.

Meanwhile, Mathew was still sobbing like a little kid.

He never knew such a thing would happen and also forgot the grandmasters were present there.

At this point even I started to feel a bit bad for Mathew.

Poor lad drew the short end of the stick, then again I don't feel that bad to sympathize.

He deserved it.

Just when we thought that the ordeal was over, the exoskeleton went through yet another transformation. The skeletal arms that had sprouted from its abdomen started to change shape and texture. The eight arms suddenly turned into a gray-brownish texture and looked quite rigid. It was as if the arms were replaced with skeletal bones by a bunch of rocks that barely resembled arms.

The next thing the rib cage opened and Mathew's hands were freed at last.

Mathew quickly backed away from the exoskeleton and tried to run away only to be caught by the phantom mage host who grabbed him by the collar. Mathew was still crying out loudly and was still scared shitless.

The grandmasters were clearly displeased with Mathew's cowardice.

Biswaq placed his hand on his brow and sighed, "Well, young lad's bravery could handle only so much."

Grandmaster Gunther then spoke up, "Mathew is a transmutant mage, and looking at those rocky arms, he luckily also gained the favor of the earth element somehow." He smiled and continued, "Well, looking aside his cowardly nature, if you join my Sapphire Citadel, my boot camp training will surely train you into a battle-hardened soldier, that is, if you survive the training camp."

Suddenly, Gunther flicked his wrist and Mathew's pocket began to glow. Mathew stopped crying immediately and took out his dial card. The insignia of Sapphire Citadel lit up, and Mathew's sobbing cry was replaced with wonder.

What the hell, this brat still managed to gain an invite in the end. What happened to the grandmaster's standards? I hoped Mathew won't get any invites at all.

Then to my surprise-

Grandmaster Ajax then spoke up, "I think you should join us, kid. I find you amusing, and I think you will feel at home at Ivory Tower, with our battle-hardened mages who will make a man out of you." He turned to his retainers and asked, "What do you all say?"

All the retainers of Ivory Tower raised their drinking jugs in the air and shouted, "The more the merrier!" Ajax flicked his wrist and another insignia lit up, indicating that Mathew had been invited to join Ivory Tower.

The other grandmasters remained silent, and Mathew took a glance at Grandmaster Biswaq, but all he got was a smile from the grandmaster without any words of praise. There were no more invites for Mathew, and he seemed a bit dejected. He took the dial card and bowed his head, saying, "Thank you for your time, and I apologize for showing such a disgraceful side."

The phantom mage escorted Mathew to the other side of the arena, where he was made to sit on the floor yet again. He was instructed to wait for the rest of the candidates to finish their trials and take this time to decide which invite he was planning to accept.

Meanwhile, the rest of the candidates seemed to be going through mixed emotions, some trying to stay focused and psyching themselves up, while others looked nervous and jittery. I cracked my knuckles, feeling confident that I could breeze through this trial, eagerly anticipating my name to be called next.

Suddenly, the phantom mage boomed out the next name, "Rina Bolina."

My heart sank. "For goodness' sake, how long are they going to drag out this arc?" I muttered under my breath, feeling irritated.

"Arc?" questioned Hendrickson and Trisha.

"Nothing. Just talking to myself," I replied with a sigh.