"That's strange…"

Staring at the wooden pole that used to hold the target dummy, I couldn't help but think that something was wrong.

After Eve's attack, the dummy regenerated from a ball of light, allowing me to test my own strength. Obviously, while the attack sourced with the outer universe was formidable, I could tell that using my entire strength in order to completely eradicate any traces of the target would wield way greater force than what I already accomplished.

But what was puzzling me, was the fact that the training dummy didn't regenerate.

The instructions that we received from the guide were clear. We were supposed to attack the dummy in total three times, allowing the administration of this place to gauge both our personal strength but also what power we could invoke during or thanks to dual cultivation.

The only problem was, without the target to attack, we couldn't even start preparing for the last part of the test!

As if to accent the fact that the test didn't conclude yet, the doors that the guide told us would appear, were nowhere to be seen. While that obviously meant that our testing process was still ongoing, I was currently clueless about what we were supposed to do.

"Bart, is everything all right?"

Noticing my hesitation, Eve quickly approached and hugged me, wrapping her arms around my neck. There was absolutely nothing sexual underlying at this moment, just a pair of lovers calming each other down in a reassuring embrace.

"Excuse me…"

Suddenly, the doors that initially lead them to this room opened up, allowing the same female that guided them so far to enter. Just from the look on her face, I could tell that she wasn't certain as to how she would act in her current situation.

"I'm sorry, but there seem to be some problems with the target dummy. For now, your lat test will be put in the hold, but there is also another matter."

Sending a strange gaze right into my face, the female smiled uneasily as if asking the question that was bothering her was actually a great challenge.

"While are testing grounds are known for being perfectly fitted for the people below immortal level and immortals themselves… I'm sorry, but I need to ask one thing. Are you, by chance, aspiring to become a protector instead?"

Finally gathering her courage to speak, the girl squealed those words, as if she was worried that for some reason I would fly in rage and punish her for the audacity of uttering those words. The thing is, I had absolutely no idea why this kind of question should make me upset!

"Well, I can't say that I paid it any mind so far…"

Taking a moment to think, I could recall several moments in my recent past where the topic of protectors was brought up. In some points, even stronger than immortals, they were known from barring themselves entry to the higher world.

Thinking about this, maybe that was the reason why the girl was so anxious? Given how we were in the city of immortals, given the way in which lord Makay acted whenever the topic of ascending to the other part of the world was brought up… Maybe wishing to become a protector wasn't something common, or maybe even something scoffed upon!

"But you could say that it's partially true. I recall a few moments when I realised that only by becoming a protector instead of an immortal would one attain true power, instead of chasing against the pipe dream of the other world…"

Muttering half to the girl and half to myself, I could feel my thoughts immersing in the topic.

Maybe that was the ultimate path that I wanted to follow? According to all the knowledge I managed to gather so far, ascending beyond the barrier between the world meant nothing else but resetting one's growth only to cultivate opposite force to magic. As someone who was in touch with entropy for so long already, I couldn't really care less about becoming a fully-fledged entropy mage.

After all, mixing both entropy and magic would not only allow me to affect but also create the void, which was the true origin of everything that surrounded me. All the times I spent in the void, away from the confines of the mortal world or the heavens, were more than enough for me to realise that becoming an expert in magic or entropy was equally as stupid. In order to find the true power and reach the true peak of the existence, one had to learn how to use the void instead of its derivatives!

"Sir, with all due respect, but it would be better if you were to keep this kind of words in your soul. While not everyone will act childishly, some are willing to go for… great lengths just to prove their point right."

Now, that was an open threat. Or rather, it was friendly advice given how this girl was basically warning me about the reality of this place. Either way, I already benefited a lot thanks to her words pointing my attention at a certain aspect of my future. In a world where I couldn't even dare to imagine what would come next, I finally found something that albeit small, could be the anchor of all my future efforts from now on.

"Either way, that will explain the strange results that you achieved, sir. According to the test, your partner's strength is on the border between low and middle immortal, while her prowess is on the level of middle immortal... "

Just this short break that the guide had to take before reading out my scores from a small note she was holding was enough to tell me everything about my results. While I couldn't be certain about the score itself, I was well damn sure what was the overall meaning that those results would tell me!

"Sir, the test claims that not only you have yet to achieve immortality, you are actually still lingering on the Realm Master of Sage level!"

Seeing the girl's trembling hands, I felt as if the entire world collapsed right down on me. But after a moment of thought, this actually made a lot of sense.

My power didn't come from my statistics alone anymore. In fact, if I were to compete with any person from the streets of the city, then I wouldn't be surprised if they were a monster in terms of agility, speed, vitality or any other aspects of one's strength when compared to me. After all, my power steemed mostly from how diverse, unnatural and messy my path to the power was.

While I couldn't output as much with the normal means as any random immortal, by combining all my knowledge, all my skills and statuses, all the different ways of moulding the energy… I easily reached levels that could threaten even the cream of the top of immortals!

But to be still at the bottom of the Sage level… That meant that Eve managed to reach cultivation two big stages greater than me already!

Yet, recalling how different a path of immortals and a path of the protectors were, I couldn't help but think that I was actually the stronger one between the two of us!

���Sir… While your cultivation level is that of realm master, the prowess that the test resulted with… Is that of celestial immortal!"