VOL 2 Chapter 56: Congratulations.

Floating with the help of the staff, Erik entered the palace and made his way through all kinds of places, such as a labyrinthine library, a room where the floors moved, extreme areas with lava or ice tombs, and other strange locations filled with all sorts of trials. The star-haired boy ignored them completely, activating the corresponding functions of the staff to overcome them with extreme ease while collecting spherical crystals of different colors in each spot.

"What are those things you're picking up, Erik?" Ebonique asked curiously as she looked at a pale blue crystal in Erik's hand. He answered in a calm tone while storing it in his storage ring.

"Well, they're actually Chantinolite crystals. They're used to create things like the crystal tablet that connects to the Sentinel Probes or the university student ID cards, but I'm collecting them because they were part of the conditions to activate certain functions of the staff, so they'll probably be needed later on."

"I see…"

Ebonique nodded with equal parts understanding and curiosity, enjoying this little adventure like a child—an experience so simple and straightforward yet overwhelmingly wonderful and refreshing, something she'd never been able to enjoy in her incomparably long life, and therefore a happiness she had been unable to understand in the past.

After being at the top of the food chain for so long, worshiped and feared wherever she went, the world had lost all its color before she even realized it; everything turned into a dull gray, and the days went by without her even noticing. She simply repeated her eternal routine of sleeping for several decades, centuries, or even millennia, only to wake up and either sit in her cold, lonely palace or meet with other eternals even more bored than she was.

After so much time, even one of her greatest hobbies—collecting treasures—had stopped being interesting. In the end, one of her few moments of amusement was sitting in her garden and drinking rare teas. But in the midst of that tedious monotony, there was a hint of color coming from a certain crazy blue phoenix who wasted her time with weak mortals.

Among the eternal spirits, Ignis was incredibly strange, debasing herself by posing as a mere ancestral spirit to while away her time with mortals—something beyond what other spirits at her level could understand. Yet oddly enough, she was the only one of them who could smile sincerely, radiating genuine happiness, unlike the silly, feigned smiles that everyone else wore.

That smile was precisely what drew Ebonique in because it was the only spark of color in her gray world—something that fascinated and, at the same time, intrigued her. How could that foolish spirit smile like that? But as much as she tried, she could never understand the reason for that happiness, until now, which inevitably brought to mind the words of that silly phoenix.

{It's just that you don't understand the beauty of the mortal world, but I think you'll begin to understand it little by little alongside young Erik.}

(Who would have thought? In the end, you were right, Ignis. The mortal world truly is something incredibly beautiful and full of color, something I could only understand by being at Erik's side. Honestly, following you that day was the best decision I could have made, fufufu.)

…

While Ebonique was lost in her memories and rediscovered emotions, Erik traversed the palace at an impressive speed, bypassing all the trials until they reached a magnificent door over twenty meters tall. It appeared to be made of a gold-like metal, its entire surface carved with all kinds of runes. But what most caught the attention of the door were nine striking spherical slots arranged in a circle at its center.

"See? I told you they'd be important, hehe." Erik said in an amused tone upon seeing the slots, to which Ebonique quickly nodded happily.

"Fufufu, yes, you nailed it. But hurry up and place them, I want to see what happens."

"Of course."

Promptly, Erik placed the nine crystal spheres he had and activated the staff's final function. This caused an iridescent light to surround the door, which began projecting images of all sorts of people fighting bravely in all kinds of settings. It then opened slowly, releasing massive amounts of Myst from the other side, almost suggesting that something astonishing lay beyond.

"What an impressive display. They really don't skimp on the special effects, hehe." Erik commented humorously as he watched the door open, revealing a flash of white light shining from the other side, at which point Ebonique laughed and added.

"Fufufu, yes, but I think it's worth it. After all the 'effort' we had to make to get here, we deserve an epic entrance, don't you think?"

"You're absolutely right. It's the least we deserve for all the hard work we put in to get this far, hehe." Erik answered playfully, then burst out laughing. His laughter was contagious, making Ebonique and even the wolves, who barked happily as they wagged their tails, join in.

"Well, it's open now. Let's go claim our prize." As soon as the door opened enough, Ebonique spoke excitedly, and Erik nodded calmly.

"Let's go."

Upon passing through the door, Erik found himself in the middle of a vast square expanse that stretched far beyond his range of sight. The ceiling was a dome mimicking the night sky, inlaid with precious stones that twinkled like constellations. The floor was a complex mosaic composed of tiles made from various luxurious-looking materials, forming abstract representations of the different trials in the palace.

Meanwhile, at the center—beneath the point where all the lines of light from the constellations converged—there was an elevated platform made of marble so pure it seemed to glow on its own. Standing upon it was a woman of ethereal beauty, with dark skin that contrasted beautifully with her long silver hair cascading down her back like a waterfall. Her expression was filled with dignity.

"Congratulations, Disciple Erik."

While restraining the urge to roll her eyes at the shameless conversation she'd overheard—one that basically confirmed the boy was a lost cause, hopelessly corrupted by his problematic masters—Ngozi congratulated him in a serious, neutral tone. Erik immediately bowed respectfully and elegantly, then responded firmly.

"It is an honor to be received by Master Iyanda."

"There's no need to be so formal. I'm quite familiar with your Masters." Ngozi spoke with a small smile, feeling slightly pleased that at least the boy knew how to behave himself, unlike a certain blonde in her youth. Erik responded with a courteous smile.

"Thank you very much for your consideration, Master Iyanda."

"Think nothing of it. But please allow me to truly congratulate you on your outstanding performance. Not only did you finish the trial in record time, you also managed to pass the hidden trial, creating a great achievement for yourself." Ngozi said, a bit uncomfortable, trying to sound as genuine as possible.

"Hidden trial?"

Erik asked, looking a little confused, to which Ngozi responded with a smile, forcefully holding back the new urge to roll her eyes at the cheeky young man who wanted to play it cool. Believing that they had not heard his whole little ramble about the 'hidden test', which was ultimately what forced her to play this little theatrical.

"I'm referring to how you modified the staff. That was a very impressive display of skill."

"You flatter me, Master Iyanda. They're just little tricks I learned from my Master, that's all."

Erik replied with an elegant demeanor, causing Ngozi's smile to nearly twist as she worried the young man had already been fully corrupted by his problematic Masters and was about to start 'humble bragging'. She managed to compose herself enough to notice that the boy did not seem to be showing off and appeared to be speaking sincerely.

"I see. Then you are blessed with great Masters." Ngozi said, a slight smile on her face. Erik answered with an equally bright smile and added.

"I think so too. They're my greatest stroke of luck in this life."

"You say pleasant things. But let's proceed to your award ceremony. Now, hand over your emblem and the special treasure."

Ngozi spoke with a small smile on her face, trying to tease a little the star-haired youth for breezing through the trials so easily by 'cheating'. However, her eyes widened slightly in surprise when Erik respectfully offered her his emblem and the staff, which inevitably led her to ask curiously.

"Why do you think the staff is the special treasure?"

"What could be more special than the key needed to locate and get through the entire palace? Besides, there are countless references to the staff all over the palace, in various murals, paintings, books, etc." Erik replied in a calm tone while gazing at Ngozi's captivating silver eyes, as Ebonique lifted her head proudly from where she was perched among his starry hair.

"Fufu, you're quite observant." Ngozi responded with a smile, discreetly studying the boy and the spirit on his head. At that moment, Erik offered her a slight, respectful bow.

"Thank you for the compliment, Master Iyanda."

Right after Erik spoke, the emblem and the staff in his hands floated on their own over to Ngozi, who simply observed them for a moment before looking back at the star-haired boy and speaking seriously. In that instant, the two artifacts moved behind her and hovered there, suspended.

"Well, everything checks out with the staff and emblem, so now you have to choose between two options. You can stay on the planet, find the main palace, and try to retrieve the treasures, or you can decide to end here and leave the planet, keeping only your spot to explore the ruin. The decision is yours."

"Mmmm, the idea of the treasures is tempting…" Erik muttered quietly, appearing to consider it for a moment before quickly shaking his head and adding in a serious tone.

"But I have things to do, so I choose to leave now."

"Then congratulations, Disciple Erik. You're the first to complete the trial, and since you managed to beat the secret trial, you're entitled to an additional prize." Ngozi took out from her storage ring a beautiful crystal card finely decorated with edges that looked like platinum, which had on the front and almost covering the card the image of a beautiful book. She then added with a smile.

"This is an access license to the university library so you can obtain knowledge more advanced than what you can access now, related to all things artificery across the three magical systems. It might not be of much help to someone like you, who has Eleonora as a Master, but perhaps it can still assist you."

"Thank you very much, Master Iyanda. It's the best prize I could receive."

After respectfully expressing his gratitude, Erik took the card, which floated over to him, visibly excited as he looked it over carefully. Then he stored it in his storage ring, as though afraid someone might take it from him. Ngozi nodded in satisfaction and briefly commented.

"I'm glad you liked the prize."

"I love it. It's definitely far beyond what I expected; now I really feel like I've won the jackpot." Erik said with a bright smile on his face, prompting Ngozi to reply in a calm tone.

"I'm glad to hear that, but it's time to go."

With a flash of light, Erik reappeared in front of the meeting hall at the space station, accompanied by Ngozi. She immediately started walking toward the hall but stopped when she realized the star-haired boy hadn't moved from his spot. She turned around and asked.

"Why are you still standing there? Let's go. The Master-levels in the hall want to meet you."

"Well… that's precisely the problem. I have a terrible feeling something very bad for me is going to happen in there…" Erik commented without looking directly at Ngozi, who smiled softly.

"There's no need to worry. You're part of the Arcane Order; this is your home, and we'd never hurt you. Besides, your Masters are in there too."

"That's exactly the problem…" Erik said with visible unease, causing Ngozi to laugh and beckon him with a graceful wave of her arm.

"Hahaha, don't worry. Go on in; nothing bad is going to happen to you."

***

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