Irwyn stood upright in front of the giant crystal, its green lustre colouring his face. The thing In front of him was the so-called 'Trial dungeon', albeit the name was misleading. It was, in fact, a Logos artifact of immense power which could create, maintain, and reshape the illusionary realms in which those trials took place. It was something fundamental for the societies all around the prime material plane as well as the rest of the vast universe. Without this thing it would be impossible to properly advance the classes that Logos provided.

"When will we head in?" Elizabeth chimed from behind. They had just entered the chamber that the Blackburg family had built around the crystal. The advancement trial was something that no one with ambition could possibly avoid, and collecting fees for accessing said trials was extraordinarily profitable. In the past when Irwyn had poorer backgrounds he often had to sign unreasonable contracts to access the trials, though his soul was thankfully very difficult to bind through mortal means.

"Right away, however, we first must take care of something," he turned around to look at the girl who has grown a lot in the last few years. They had both started puberty recently, the time when the human body underwent natural metamorphosis, and that was also the ideal time to accomplish their first advancement. Any sooner and he would risk hindering the natural growth of their bodies, but any later and the effect of their catalyst would be significantly lowered. Speaking of the catalyst, with a flick of his hand Irwyn took a sizable box out of his storage ring. Since he kept the existence of that ring a secret Elizabeth immediately became rather wide-eyed, however, didn’t demand an explanation.

“Take one,” Irwyn smiled as he opened the box revealing two fiery red fruits, “Swallow it in one gulp, no biting,” he commanded and Elizabeth followed his instructions. He had to pay quite the price for those two plums. Originally he tasked the Brinewood family with obtaining them catalysts for him back when he first met Elizabeth, however, the crumbling family managed to get the ship that was delivering them looted by pirates. Moreover, the raiders were careful enough that Irwyn couldn’t quite find their hideout without borrowing Avys’ network. At that point he concluded that it would be cheaper to just buy the catalysts back through a middleman than to owe Avys a favour.

“Gulp,” Elizabeth swallowed the fruit in one breath, and Irwyn followed suit. He immediately felt as though living flames rolled down his throat as a scorching sensasion slowly fell towards his stomach, “Bear it!” Irwyn pronounced to the vermillion faced Elizabeth who was no doubt experiencing something similar. Her eyes widened for a split second before she resolutely nodded. Soon enough the sensation fully entered Irwyn’s stomach and became pleasantly warm rather than searing. That warmth swiftly spread through Irwyn’s veins and intergrated itself into his body. He felt some pain in his internal wounds for a few seconds before all those sensations completely vanished.

“So this is what a catalyst feels like,” Elizabeth exclaimed. Although Irwyn never mentioned that what he gave her was a catalyst she was smart enough to figure something like that out on her own.

“Yes, I managed to get my hands on 2 catalysts surpassing even the first rate ones,” Irwyn confirmed, “The power lies dormant within our bodies for now, however, it will be integrated when we advance into the second tier,” he also explained.

“In that case we should head in, right?” she glanced at the intimidating crystal in front of them. Her eyes did not properly hide her excitement. Although the difference between the first and second tier was not as vast it was understandable that Elizabeth would be filled with an eerie anticipation. Despite everything, she was undoubtedly still a child.

“Yes,” Irwyn nodded and offered her his hand, “Hold on tight.”

As soon as Elizabeth grabbed onto him, Irwyn reached out with his second hand and touched the crystal. The moment they made contact Irwyn felt something enter his body and cling to his soul, like a tentrill which attached itself onto him. And through that connection messages began to flash in front of his eyes.

[Initiate trial?]

[Input confirmed. Confirming suitability.]

[All conditions met. Choose the trial type out of the following options: Trial of Destruction; Trial of Salvation; Trial of Creation]

[Choice confirmed. Initiating the challenge calculation for the trial of Destruction]

[Number of participants: 2 (*2); Tier: 1 (*10^1); Total of active levels: 60 (+60); Hidden (Meeting of fate multiplier) (*10^1); Keystones: 1 (+10^1); Base challenge value (+10)]

[Equation: (60+10+10)*10*10*2= x]

[Result: 16,000]

[The rewards will be calculated based on the challenge rating upon completion]

[Randomly choosing a challenge type…]

[Overwritten by skill Overseer]

[Challenge type set: The domain of endless conflict]

[Initiating transportation]

Those messages flashed in front of Irwyn in just a few seconds before a blinding light completely enveloped the room. When Irwyn eventually recovered his vision he was no longer standing next to the crystal. Instead in front of him appeared vast open plains. The verdant grass was, however, mostly buried beneath mountains of corpses as countless greatswords and spears pierced the ground as though they were the real vegetation of this brutal domain.

“They are charging again!” a stern yell sounded from behind Irwyn, “All men, get into formation!”

[Welcome to The domain of endless conflict]

[Trial objective: Assist the Gilded army of Aurelio in defeating the Forsaken legion of Halamar]

[Success condition: The Gilded army of Aurelio achieves victory]

[Bonus objectives: Distinguish yourself through extraordinary exploits - repeatable]

“Mages and bowmen! Get ready!” the same voice as before sounded just as hooves sounded from not afar. A cloud of dust rose in the distance and in mere moments a charging heavy cavalry was revealed. It appears as though darkness itself was assaulting them, as each of the knights wore pitch-black armour which completely covered their features as well as wielding ebony spears, and riding dark steeds.

Irwyn briefly glanced behind him where Elizabeth stood, still grasping his hand, and nodded. He had naturally explained beforehand what was to come. Without further hesitation, they let go of each other and began to muster mana. The objective was straightforward and simple after all.

“Steady!” the commanding voice instructed to hold their fire as the cavalry drew closer and closer. Meanwhile, Irwyn put great effort into constructing the most destructive spell he could.

“Steady!” the racket of the hooves drew nearer and nearer each second. The thick atmosphere was almost tangible as the Gilded army awaited in formation. Lines of spearman awaited the charge with their weapons raised while the casters and archers awaited the order to launch their might.

“FIRE!” the command finally came just when the hooves were about to overpower what sound a voice could manage. Immediately a barrage of arrows swallowed the sky, devouring the light of the sun. In that moment of darkness brilliant lights glittered all around Irwyn as numerous spells chased after the rain of quills, Irwyn’s and Elizabeth’s included.

Irwyn summoned a giant serpent of flames flowing like a liquid. Its distinct scales glittered as the mighty spell spiralled through the air, ready to crush all who dared block its march. Meanwhile, Elizabeth created an enormous burning spear of likewise liquid flames which contained enormous explosive potential.

The black knights were scattered like smoke when the arrows hit them. The front rows instantly fell apart under the relentless valley, and those who survived the tidal wave of arrows were smitten by rampaging magic of all elements. Yet despite the obviously tremendous loses the cavalry seemed to be infinite in number as 2 knights took the place of each fallen. Even the huge chunk blown away by Elizabeth’s spear was filled back up in an instant, and even Irwyn’s serpent was not able to slaughter through the ranks fast enough.

“Fire at will!” the commander screamed, even infusing some magic to make his words audible. As the last syllable rang Irwyn had already released another spell. Focusing on mass destruction he was tossing one destructive pyroblast after another while carefully maintaining his original spell. It was perhaps thanks to his contribution that the enemies charging in his area of effect were significantly further away from the Gilded army’s front lines. However, a collision was still inevitable.

Deafening clangs and blood-curdling screams joined the rampaging hooves as the first knight charged into the raised spears. After the first contact all hell broke loose as one black horseman after another rushed to their death. The first few were stopped, then the next dozen were hindered, and then the rest completely broke through.

Behind the spearman was common infantry armed with short spears, and swords of various sizes. Their ability to stop the reckless charge was significantly lower than the frontline of spearmen, so despite the constant support of magic and arrows the black horde pierced deeper and deeper into the formation.

“Do not take a single step back!” the familiar voice once again sounded as a tidal wave of magic swept through the ranks. Irwyn felt his muscles become filled with the might to bend steel and shatter rocks as comfortable feeling spread through his entire being. He was naturally not the only one who felt that effect as the surrounding soldiers seemed to regain their vigour, halting the relentless advance of the black knights through sheer stubbornness. Now that the charge’s momentum was stopped the knights were suddenly out of position as only certain segments of the spearwall fell, and now those who had charged through the gaps were surrounded, their allies blocking the only path of retreat. Unable to properly use their spears they were promptly massacred. During all this Irwyn was continuously flinging one spell after another, barely keeping the enemy at bay. Although he was extremely powerful for someone in the 1st tier the challenge rating calculated for this trial was ridiculously high. It, in fact, rivalled a hard score for the second tier, so he naturally struggled quite a bit. He was not in much danger, that is the reason why he always chose the Domain of endless conflict as his first trial after all, but he was not in a state which would afford leisure.

“They are retreating! Kill as many as you can!” another command came, and indeed, the seemingly endless horde had finally decided to cut their losses and flee. The morale soared when the soldiers of the Gilded army saw the assault relent. The infantry struck down those who did not turn around in time while mages and archers rained death upon the retreating foes.

[Bonus objective completed]

A message blinked in front of Irwyn’s eyes as the black knights ran out of range. As soon as the sound of hooves vanished a furious roar shook the skies

“AURELIO!”