Chapter 250 – Will

Clap, clap, clap!

After Punk used a restoration spell to heal his eardrums, the first thing that reached his ears was the Projection’s unique “verbal version of applause.”

This Projection, draped in an oversized mage robe, continued mechanically making clapping motions while offering congratulations in a monotonous, insincere voice:

“Congratulations, heir. You’ve passed yet another challenging trial.”

“Spare me your congratulations—it sounds dripping with sarcasm!”

Punk brushed off non-existent dust from his clothes as he stood up. Just moments earlier, his attire had instantly reverted to his original equipment. The tattered linen mage robe vanished without a trace, replaced by a black hooded robe flowing with dark red energy runes that had quietly returned.

The clothing transformation remained as abrupt and unpredictable as ever, but Punk was now somewhat mentally prepared for these various “sudden changes.” He no longer reacted with exaggerated surprise or attempted to probe with complaints. Instead, he calmly adjusted the edge of his hood, ensuring his pointed ears were completely concealed.

“Out of the curiosity required of an heir, I’d like to ask—was this thing cultivated by a Grand Arcanist? I originally thought it was a summoned creature!”

Punk nudged the Soul Shepherd’s corpse lying on the ground with his fine leather boot, as if kicking a broken doll.

The massive corpse had now lost all energy support, becoming a pile of brittle bones that rattled noisily when Punk kicked it.

It had to be said that as a relatively rare magical creature, many parts of the Soul Shepherd’s body were valuable magical materials. For instance, these bone powders could refine numerous high-level alchemical potions, and its semi-energyized eyes were also useful magical components. If not for Punk’s storage ring being unusable, he would have immediately stored the corpse on the ground.

However, the fact that the Soul Shepherd left behind a physical body after death proved it wasn’t a summoned creature but a truly complete life form.

“This creature certainly wasn’t summoned. It was teleported from an Undead Demiplane attached to these ruins.”

The Projection’s reply came as a matter of course, every word oozing with self-satisfaction.

Indeed, the Projection’s self-assessment was quite high—after all, it wasn’t the one who had to fight. As the actual participant, Punk immediately felt uneasy:

“Damn it… Well, I’ve already dealt with one ghost… Let me ask first: are there many Master-Level undead creatures in that demiplane?”

“Of course. Although an attached demiplane contains no Legendary Experts, there are still several hundred thousand Master-Level undead.”

“………… Then the creature you summoned must have been carefully selected, right? Can I assume you were confident it didn’t possess any powerful hidden cards? That you considered potentially abnormal combat capabilities?”

“………… No matter. I believe in you, heir. The assistance provided in the Trial Space can ‘theoretically’ handle any creature below the Legendary level!”

“Heavens, what if this creature’s strength exceeded your estimation and it unleashed power that killed me instantly without any chance to dodge?””Then just die, what else can you do?”

“…………Your logic is so impeccable I’m left speechless…………”

Punk barely restrained the urge to blast this Projection with a Kinetic Cone. Where exactly was this guy’s test rigorous? Clearly that Grand Arcanist built this place just to mess with people, right!

But there was no point dwelling on it now. For one thing, Punk had already passed, and for another…

“When the labyrinth designer doesn’t play by the rules, what can I do? I’m helpless too.”

Seeing the Projection’s perpetually deadpan expression, Punk couldn’t be bothered to argue further. He knew no matter how absurd this damned trial was, he had to continue – after all, this was someone else’s territory. At least the substantial reward offered some consolation!

“Very well, now that I’ve recovered, I suppose we can proceed with the final trial promptly. To be honest, I’m already starting to miss those delicious fruit pies.”

Punk spread his hands in a gesture of utter resignation.

Speaking of fruit pies, Punk genuinely liked them. As a half-Ancient Elf, he had a particular fondness for fruit-based delicacies. For convenient access to snacks, fruit pies were the only “recreational project” he’d spent a full hour learning to make. His Storage Ring still contained several freshly baked pies from a week ago.

But as fate would have it, the fruit pies Punk was mildly anticipating might remain out of reach for the foreseeable future.

“Whether fortunate or unfortunate heir, the upcoming trial will likely differ slightly from your expectations!”

“Differ? Are you sure it’s just slightly?”

Hearing the Projection’s response, Punk’s eyebrows shot up. He didn’t need any premonitions about how troublesome this Netherese Ruins could be – just from the Projection’s words, he could confirm that while the trial’s difficulty remained unknown, its absurdity level would definitely be high.

Reality calmly confirmed Punk’s suspicion – your guess is correct, but no reward.

“The next trial tests willpower. You will directly enter the memories of an Erudite Grand Arcanist, experiencing firsthand in perfect detail his entire 24,000-year lifespan from birth to death on the battlefield.

But don’t worry – due to time acceleration within the memories, you’ll only actually age 460 years!

During this period, you’ll also acquire the knowledge of the Erudite Grand Arcanist ‘Far-Sky Scholar’ – Vedrasha Zakas. This knowledge constitutes the first phase of the inheritance.”

“So the willpower test is included as well?”

Punk inquired.

“Correct. You’ll experience not just a Grand Arcanist’s learning process, but all memories and emotions from this powerful being’s long life – every detail from childhood onward, leaving nothing out. If you can emerge from this experience indistinguishable from real life without losing yourself, it will prove your willpower is qualified.”

“I see. This is truly… a formidable trial!”

Punk murmured gravely to himself.It must be understood that humans are inherently fickle creatures. On Earth, a person can become utterly unrecognizable after just a decade or two in different environments. Countless individuals who once cherished dreams ultimately lose themselves in mediocrity.

But now, faced with the complete, meticulous, and staggeringly long lifespan of 24,000 years belonging to a higher-level being, any creature capable of maintaining its sense of self can no longer be described as a genius. It should be called a monster—an absolute, thoroughgoing monster!

The current reality is that the Netherese civilization only wants “monsters.” Ordinary geniuses don’t even catch the attention of the Grand Arcanists. Compared to the final trial, the preceding tests barely qualify as challenging—they’re merely the entry threshold for “genius.”

(End of Chapter)