Chapter 21: Session Ceremony (2)
"I nearly missed it."
Zion thought as he nced at the supervisors who stared at him in shock.
His tardiness to the inheritance ritual tied back to the second star spinning in his eye - ck Star 2.
To level up, his body needed to cope with it.
So, he had consumed the processed heart of a thousand-year-old ogre beforehand, fully absorbing its power.
Just 20 minutes ago, Zion had fully achieved ck Star 2.
''The chronicles don''t mention this ritual. Better be fully prepared.''
The original Zion Agnes from the Frosimar Chronicles was dead, and therefore, no inheritance ceremony took ce.
So, Zion had no details about this ritual.
"As Prince Zion has now joined us, I''ll exin the inheritance ceremony briefly."
The first supervisor toe back to his senses, Lambard, started exining.
"The ceremony is in the ''Pce of Qualification'', nine floors up, excluding the first floor that serves as the preparation ground. Each level has doors that test the contestants andbyrinthine corridors to navigate......”
As Lambard exined, Zion surveyed his surroundings.
Everyone''s eyes were fixed on him.
Zion sensed a whirl of emotions in their gaze.
Bewilderment, astonishment, scorn, mockery.
One thing was clear: most of them doubted he''d pass the inheritance ritual.
''No, not most, all of them.''
Regardless of how much Zion had changed, their long-held perceptions of him wouldn''t shift overnight.
"...The first three to reach the top floor pass this ritual. All tests on each level are managed by the supervisors here, including me. That''s it."
Lambard''s concluding statement reached Zion.
As soon as Lambard finished, he locked eyes with Zion.
"Now, we''ll begin the inheritance ritual. Good luck."
Looking into Zion''s eyes, Lambard spoke sternly, then joined the other supervisors.
"Things are going as expected."
Zion''s eyes narrowed slightly as he watched the retreating supervisors.
---
Raei Trantions
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"Prince Zion......"
Lambard voiced Zion''s name as he wrapped up the inheritance ritual''s details and headed to the supervisors'' room.
He had seen Prince Zion a few months ago, unlike the others.
Always with downcast eyes and a hunched posture.
A frail body that seemed as if it could shatter upon touch, and pathetic skills in swordsmanship and magic.
It wasn''t surprising that he was deemed the family embarrassment.
''But he was different earlier.''
The Prince Zion he''d seen in the first-floor battleground was transformed beyond recognition.
He emanated the aura of a leader naturally and his eyes calmly took in everything.
Even his physique appeared somewhat improved.
''What happened to him?''
But Lambard dismissed his questions with a shake of his head.
Nothing would have changed the oue.
''If he hadn''t shown up, he would still be alive.''
As he thought, Lambard''s eyes glowed deep blue.
A trap.
This inheritance ceremony was merely a trap set to kill Prince Zion.
An inescapable, imprable trap.
One or several ''higher-ups'' wanted Prince Zion dead in this ceremony.
That''s why they reced all the supervisors with loyal followers.
And Lambard was one of them.
''It must be due to Prince Zion''s mother''s family.''
Thinking so, Lambard bowed his head slightly.
It wasn''t his problem.
''The ones stuck in this mess, they''re the ones I pity.''
But Lambard''s eyes revealed no sympathy as he thought.
---
Raei Trantions
---
"Only three can pass? That''s rough."
Tadadat!
Once the supervisors vanished, the remaining participants rushed to one of the numerous entrances around the battleground.
Firste, first served, there was no time to hesitate.
It seemed that each entrance only allowed one entrant, shutting firmly after entry.
"......"
Prince Zion entered R''s sight as she prepared to follow the other participants.
Unlike them, Zion stood still, quietly watching the spot where the supervisors had disappeared.
His presence was somehow unsettling.
"You''re not going in? I''ll go ahead. Catch youter."
Beil, gently tapping R''s shoulder, entered an entrance first.
After watching Zion with a worried look for a moment, R also began to slowly move.
Finally, the battleground emptied.
Thump, thump.
Then, Zion started moving at his own pace.
"Each floor tests a different emperor''s quality."
Zion stepped into one of the entrances, remembering Lambard''s words from earlier.
Thud!
The entrance door automatically shut behind him, but Zion, unfazed, pressed on.
Soon, a staircase loomed before him.
''Stairs to the second floor?''
After climbing for some time...
As soon as he noticed the ground leveling off...
Shhhh-
Strange noises reverberated around Zion.
It sounded like a swarm of rats gnawing incessantly.
The first trial had begun.
Zion''s eyes darted around as waves approached him from all sides.
''No, not waves.''
Insects.
Tens, no, hundreds of thousands of them.
Incalcble numbers of insects surged towards Zion, forming a colossal wave.
The ground, where the swarm of insects had passed, was gouged deeply, exposing the raw earth beneath.
Each of them was a carnivorous insect, burrowing into the flesh and heart upon contact with a human body.
A test demanding the basic qualifications for an emperor.
The difficulty was extreme, even for the initial challenge.
"Surely there''s another path besides direct confrontation..."
But Zion had no ns to seek it.
Thump, thump.
He moved towards the oing wave of insects.
With every step Zion took, a profound darkness began to seep out.
Slurp.
This darkness flowed like water, spreading across the space along the floor.
ck Star Level 2.
It wasn''t simply an advancement of the ck Star achievement by one stage.
In the ck Star, a star signifies a world.
A star is a self-contained universe.
Therefore, reaching Level 2 was tantamount to unveiling a new world.
The chasm between levels was vast, an iparable leap from Level 1.
Dark Sea.
The transformation that could be fully mastered upon achieving Level 2.
The darkness birthed from such a transformation turned into a sea and swallowed the approaching swarm of carnivorous insects.
Chiiiiiik!
The insects vanished instantly, incinerated upon contact with Zion''s dark sea.
The power of the ck Star, which negates the existence of all things.
This power imbued the darkness of the Dark Sea, annihting the encroaching insects.
A unique method that only Zion could employ.
He strode across the first level of the trial that had been cleansed.
Creak!
As he reached the level''s end, a stairway to the third floor materialized as though anticipating his arrival.
Presumably, the observing supervisors had opened it.
Zion grinned, imagining their expressions at this sight.
Seeing no reason to dawdle, he headed promptly for the next level.
''Here...''
What awaited Zion as he ascended the stairs was an expansive maze so vast its end was invisible.
It was mind-boggling to consider such a structure could exist within a building.
''Is this the starting point?''
Just as Zion''s gaze idly swept over the maze...
Thwaaang!
A gargantuan greatsword, seemingly about three meters in length, swooped down at him from behind.
The maze walls crumbled, incapable of withstanding the assault.
Dodging the blow at thest second, Zion sidestepped and scrutinized the wielder of the greatsword.
''That is...''
The figure was entirely encased in ck te armor from head to toe, with red eyes gleaming ominously from within the helmet, emitting a chilling aura of death magic.
Such a figurecked any semnce of the warmth typical of living beings.
A Death Knight.
An undead being, forever chasing the aplishments it couldn''t attain in life as a formidable knight.
Zion''s eyes narrowed as he assessed the Death Knight.
He hadn''t anticipated encountering the undead in the Emperor''s qualification examination.
-Grroaaar!
Meanwhile, the Death Knight, letting out an otherworldly scream, charged at Zion once more.
Did its body still remember itsbat skills from its previous life?
The precision and sharpness of the movements were too urate to assume that reason hadpletely evaporated.
Screech!
Zion''s eyes morphed into an inky ck as he observed the greatsword shing at him with harrowing speed.
Dark Vision.
An ability that came with the advancement to Level 2 of the ck Star, it allowed him to perceive the opponent''s vulnerabilities and patterns of movement, as if tracing threads.
Thump.
One step.
A single diagonal stride forward and the Death Knight''s greatsword whooshed past, narrowly missing Zion''s ear.
Zion swayed slightly from the wind pressure generated by the passing de.
Yet, maintaining his bnce, Zion lunged one step further, closing in on the Death Knight''s chest.
Fwoosh!
Darkness erupted from Zion''s hand like me.
Just as he prepared tond a punch engulfed in this darkness on the Death Knight''s head...
Szzzzk!
Silver streams of sword light rained down from all sides, shing through Zion''s body over a dozen times in an instant.
However, after the torrent of light, Zion''s body, thought to have been sliced into pieces, dissipated into the ether.
Swoosh.
From a spot slightly removed from the sword light, darkness coalesced once again, and Zion reemerged.
This was an application of Dark Flow, one of the teleportation abilities of the ck Star.
In Zion''s line of sight, three additional Death Knights, each armed with a greatsword, materialized beside the first.
"So, they''re showing themselves so brazenly?"
Zion murmured under his breath.
He had suspected it.
Yet, he hadn''t been entirely certain.
At least not until he hadpleted the first-floor test and confronted a lone Death Knight.
Now, however, his doubts were dispelled.
Those orchestrating this session ceremony evidently intended for none of the participants who had entered the Pce of Qualification to emerge alive.
''To be exact, they probably intend to ensure my demise.''
Even though it was an examination probing one''s fitness to be an emperor, this was a session ceremony gauging minimum qualifications.
The difficulty level should not have been so extreme.
The deployment of the undead hinted they didn''t n to leave any living witnesses.
"Intriguing." he murmured, a smile creeping onto Zion''s lips.
If they tantly breached the rules like this, there was no reason for Zion to listen to them either.
Creak!
The Death Knights turned their heads in unison, their gaze settling on Zion.
Grrrroar!
In response to a collective roar, each began their assault on Zion, weapons at the ready.
Their des, cloaked in the ethereal energy of death, were aimed squarely at Zion.
Zion remained rooted in ce, observing the ensuing chaos with a detached calmness as though it was of no concern to him.
Szzzzk!
In the blink of an eye, the Death Knights, propelled by the battle expertise ingrained in their bodies from their previous lives, closed the gap on Zion, their death-energy infused weapons raised to strike.
Just as the Death Knights'' weapons were poised to pierce Zion''s throat and heart...
Boom!
A surge of darkness erupted from Zion''s foot, barely grazing the ground.
Fwoosh!
In an instant, this darkness transformed into a maelstrom, swallowing up Zion, the Death Knights, and the entirety of the surrounding space.
***
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