The Reward's Room

Draeven frowned. After everything he had just heard, going in alone was nothing short of suicide. If it were just him, he might have still considered it. But he wasn't alone. Tzarek and Vek'tal were here with him. He might joke about the risks of dying, but that didn't mean he wanted them to die. He inhaled sharply, steeling himself. "Alright. I'll do the first task." His gaze locked onto Slark's. "Will you send someone to take the magus from us?"

Slark chuckled, "Oh, you don't need to worry about that." His grin widened, revealing jagged teeth. "One of us will be watching—hidden in your shadow, seeing everything you do. Kekeke."

Meanwhile, back with Elvira and Ben, they finally passed through the bland hallway. The new room was a perfect cube, filled with display cabinets. Inside, they could see crystals in a myriad of colors. Each one was cut skillfully, turned into something breathtaking. "It's beautiful," Elvira murmured, her fingers hovering near the glass. "But it doesn't look like a magic gemstone." Her gaze settled on a purple crystal, cut into a sphere with sharp reflective angles. Light bounced off its surface, making it shimmer like a tiny captured star.

"Maybe it's just a normal crystal," Ben said, stepping forward. "Or maybe this display seals the mana so you can't feel it." His attention, however, was drawn elsewhere—to the platform in the center of the room. On top of it sat a strange terminal, filled with buttons but no display. Strange letters were engraved onto its surface, but none of them made sense to him.

Elvira tapped the glass lightly, then frowned. "You're probably right. There's no way this is just normal glass. I can't feel anything behind it—it's like trying to sense air."

"I see… Rather than that, Elvira, check this terminal. We probably get our reward from this," Ben suggested. He didn't want to recklessly press anything. Not in this ruin. Even now, his instincts screamed danger.

"Give me a minute, my beloved. I want to check this first," Elvira replied, eyes still glued to the crystal.

Ben sighed. He was used to this by now. If something caught her interest as a mage, she would pour all her focus into it. Probably one of the reasons she was a genius. But now was not the time. He wanted to get out of this place. Before he could say anything else, a familiar game tune started playing, echoing through the room. Then, without warning, a holographic silhouette emerged from the terminal.

It appeared as a simple humanoid outline, a featureless face—smooth and expressionless, like an anonymous mask. A mechanical voice came from it, but the language was one neither Ben nor Elvira could understand. "Ϙλπ… Δευχ… Σρφυ…"

Elvira frowned, her interest now pulled toward the strange figure. Ben took a cautious step back, his muscles tensing as he prepared for a fight. His hand moved instinctively, pulling up the creature creation screen. After the last battle, all his Krell Scouts had been wiped out—he hadn't created more of them yet.

Then, abruptly, the language shifted, the voice flattening into something comprehensible. "…Adjusting linguistic parameters. Synchronization complete. Congratulations, Participants. You have successfully completed the designated trial. Your actions have been recorded and archived. The reward protocol will now be initiated. Please remain calm as we optimize the reward to match your preferences."

The moment the words fell, two blocks materialized near the holographic silhouette. But unlike the block-like creatures Ben had fought before, these had no mouths—just two sets of eyes that looked more like cameras. One began floating toward Ben, the other drifting toward Elvira. A thin beam of light shot from their eyes, scanning both of them. Ben and Elvira stayed on high alert, watching closely, prepared to fight at any notice.

Mana rippled from Elvira's palm as she scanned the block drone. "My beloved, this feels similar to a magical construct, but it doesn't seem to have a core."

"Maybe because it has a different purpose? And I doubt it doesn't have a core. It's probably controlled wirelessly."

"Wirelessly?" A thought sparked in Elvira's mind. It wasn't like wireless control was new to her—this technology had been recovered from one of the ruins. But none of the mages had taken much interest in it.

The reason was simple. Since the signal still existed, anyone with decent skill and knowledge could easily hijack it. That was why this method was never used for combat units. At best, it was reserved for civilian tools with practical functions. But for a mage like her? She would never rely on something so vulnerable—she didn't want any of her secrets leaking out.

Mana pulsed at her fingertips as she moved her hand, weaving a complex magic circle into existence. If the drone was being controlled remotely, this should tell her where and how it was done. 

"Warning. Unauthorized interference detected. Countermeasure deployed." A mechanical voice rang out from the projection, followed by a sharp pulse.

The magic circle Elvira had created fractured and shattered in an instant, scattering like broken glass before vanishing completely.

Elvira gasped, her breath catching in her throat. That had never happened before. Not once in her life had a spell of hers been forcibly canceled like that. "What… just happened?"

Ben raised an eyebrow. He didn't find this strange. In his mind, it was perfectly normal for a method to exist that could counter someone's magic. Of course, it would be difficult to pull off and would require the interrupter to be on a far stronger level, but considering the ruin, it wasn't anything surprising. But Elvira's shock made him wonder if she had suffered some kind of backlash. "Are you all right?"

"I—I'm fine," Elvira replied, still bewildered. "Did you see that, my beloved? It just dispersed my magic like it was nothing."

"That's never happened before?"

Elvira stared at her now-empty palm, her fingers twitching slightly. "Canceling out someone's magic? No! I've heard of artifacts that can disrupt mana flow, interfering with spellcasting—but not like this…"

Ben wanted to say more, but the projection interrupted. "Scan completed. Reward will be given now."