The stone chamber remained still for only a moment after the completion of Alex’s first trial, but soon the familiar shimmer of magic began to ripple through the room once more.
The damage trial was over, but the real test was just beginning.
Alex knew that, despite the ease with which he had destroyed the first dummy, his SSS-level talent was now pushing the trial into the most extreme of difficulties.
[Second Trial: Combat]
A new message appeared before him.
[You will face 10 Level 15 magic dummies. Defeat them to proceed.]
Almost instantly, the room shifted again.
The chamber expanded, and before Alex could even fully process the new surroundings, ten glowing figures appeared in a wide semicircle around him.
Each one of them radiated power far beyond what any ordinary level 10 player could handle.
The dummies looked humanoid, but they were made of gleaming stone, their cores glowing with arcane energy.
Their magical prowess would undoubtedly put Alex’s skills to the test.
As soon as they fully materialized, the first dummy acted.
“Fireball!”
Then another did too.
“Lightning Strike!”
A searing blast of fire shot toward Alex, followed by a crackling arc of lightning from another.
He barely had time to raise his staff and conjure a the [Earsh Shield] to absorb the damage.
Boom! Zap!
-420! -248!
The shield broke from the two attacks.
These things weren’t wasting any time, but Alex wasn’t nervous at all for some reason.
He retaliated with [Fire Storm], a swirling vortex of crimson, fiery energy burst into existence above the dummies, crackling with malicious power.
The room erupted in chaos as the spell engulfed the dummies, leaving no room for escape.
The effects were immediate.
-760 HP! -760 HP! -760 HP!
The numbers flashed across Alex’s vision as the dummies took severe damage, nearly obliterating them in one massive blow since they only had 1000 HP.
The damage was immense, but not enough to finish them off.
As the flames of [Fire Storm] dissipated, the dummies quickly recovered, their cores flaring with renewed energy as they prepared another synchronized assault.
Ten spells flew toward him, the dummies now casting in unison: fireballs, lightning bolts, frost spears—all coming from different directions.
He could tell they were adapting, becoming more coordinated in their attacks, trying to corner him.
There was no time to cast another spell either since too busy avoiding: he needed a different strategy.
“Time to switch things up.”
Alex knew that pure magic wouldn’t get him through this alone.
And so with a burst of speed, he darted to the side, narrowly avoiding a flurry of ice shards that slammed into the ground where he had been standing just moments ago.
His Assassin agility kicked in, allowing him to move faster than the dummies could track.
As he closed the gap between himself and the first dummy, Alex reached into his inventory and drew the [Bear Poison Dagger].
The blade glistened with a toxic sheen, ready to tear into his enemies.
In a seamless motion, he thrust the dagger into the nearest dummy, the blade sinking into the glowing stone.
Strike! Fwish!
[Strike Level 1; Deals 100 of damage to target + 100% of strength to target, no cooldown.]
-242!
He just quite literally did just enough damage to kill it.
One down.
Without missing a beat, Alex spun on his heel, his right hand still raised and ready.
As he continued to stab with his left hand, using [Strike] repeatedly, his right hand unleashed a [Grand Fireball] toward another group of dummies.
-2267!
The group of dummies, whom were pretty close to one another, died, not only from the impact, but also from the explosion of the fireball, killing four of them at once.
One by one, the dummies fell.
The room became a whirlwind of spells and strikes, Alex dispatching each enemy with a deadly combination of magic and physical attacks.
His strategy of mixing spells with close-range combat proved to be extremely powerful, and soon enough, only one dummy remained.
“???” it seemed confused as to how it had lost all its friends.
Yet even then, still glowing with residual arcane energy, the last dummy attempted to cast another spell, but Alex didn’t give it the chance.
With a final burst of speed, he lunged forward, plunging his dagger deep into its core.
-242!
The dummy crumbled to dust like the others before it, leaving the chamber silent once more.
[Choose something to extract x2!]
“Oh!” and it seemed as though he could actually extract something from these puppets!
[14 spirit attribute points]
[‘Lightning Strike’ Skill (novice-spell)]
[Dummy Staff (Uncommon)]
Without hesitation, he selected the skill first, then the attribute points since the [Dummy Staff] wouldn’t do anything to him.
[You have gained the ‘Lightning Strike’ skill!]
[Lightning Strike Level 1; Deal 100 points of damage + 100% of spirit to target + 10% chance to cause stun to target; consumes 20 mana, 3-second cooldown.]
Alex stared at the panel with a blank expression, it was always good to add spells to your arsenal, after all.
[Trial complete! You have successfully defeated all 10 dummies without taking a single point of damage! You are awarded an SSS-Rating for your combat prowess!]
Fwish! Ding!
Then he immediately moved on to the third and final trial.
The room shifted once more, and Alex found himself standing in front of a massive stone obelisk, glowing with arcane symbols.
[Final Trial: Spell casting Mastery]
The voice returned, echoing through the chamber.
[In this trial, you must prove your mastery over spell casting.
Three magical constructs will appear, each with a specific elemental affinity: fire, earth, and lightning. You must destroy them using the appropriate elemental symbols on them!]
And then three glowing orbs materialized before him, each one representing a different element.
Alex had faced similar trials in the past as a warrior, but this one was different.
Basically, this was more like a target practice and intelligence than anything else.
The first orb, glowing a deep crimson, represented fire.
Alex had no time to waste as he summoned his [Grand Fireball] and hurled it toward the fire orb.
The fireball collided with the orb with perfect precision, and it got destroyed immediately.
Next came the earthen orb, its surface craggy and covered in moss, and Alex did the same with [Rock Throw].
The final orb, crackling with electricity, hovered menacingly before him.
Alex quickly summoned the newly acquired [Lightning Strike], which he had never used, and the bolt of energy arced from his staff and struck the orb, causing it to flicker and collapse into nothingness.
But this trial wasn’t over.
[Ultimate Trial Initiated…]
The human before it had just achieved an SSS-rating in all three trials, this shouldn’t be possible!
And so it initiated something even Alex didn’t know of: the ultimate trial.
More orbs began to appear, each one cycling through different elements faster than before.
Alex had to think quickly, switching between spells with precision and speed.
His mind raced as he matched each orb to its elemental attribute, casting spells in rapid succession.
Grand Fireball! Rock Throw! Lightning Strike!
Each orb shattered almost as fast as it appeared, and eventually, the trial had to concede: the human was too good, not missing his mark at all!
And so finally, after what felt like an eternity, the last orb shattered, and the room fell silent.
[Final Trial complete! SSS-Rating achieved for spell casting mastery!]
Alex blinked, not even exhausted or even tired from all of this, his mana pool surviving well.
[Congratulations, FateBreaker. You have completed the Mage trial with an SSS-Rating in all categories. Your rewards will now be calculated…]
The light intensified, and Alex felt himself being pulled toward it.
His heart raced in anticipation of what rewards awaited him for his unparalleled performance.
Ding!
[Profession has advanced from ‘Mage’ to hidden profession ‘Unparalleled Mage’ (SSS-Level)]
[You have officially become a “First Tier” or “One Star” Player!]
[You have received 20x skill points, +50 spirit attributes, as well as a ‘Mage Tower Token’!]
20 skill points was great news, as it meant that he should soon enough be able to upgrade another one of his skills.
But what the hell was a [Mage Tower Token]?
[Mage Tower Token (Artifact): Allows you to access the mage tower and meet the transcendent mage, Arceus, he may take you in based on your performance, though note he has never ever taken any students in before.]
“???” Alex had never heard of something like that in his past life, even among his mage friends.
Who the hell was Arceus?
In the end, it didn’t matter much.
[The Mage Tower Token is not a physical object, it is directly stored in your system, it will be used when the time is right!]
“Oh well,” he didn’t know about it, but he lost nothing by going to check later, if he found it, that is.