After finally achieving his goal, Grey left his inner world. He glanced at the magical clock and saw that only an hour had passed. "I still have plenty of time," he said, leaping out of his room's window.
He landed softly on the lush ground and, with a swift motion, headed towards the dense forest near the central area. Grey moved with great speed and precision, jumping from tree to tree. He avoided using magic to prevent alerting anyone, especially Luna, who was sensitive to space magic. Instead, he had inscribed anti-magic and stealth enchantments on himself.
No one knew about Grey's knowledge of inscriptions or his katana. He had kept his true powers hidden, planning to surprise everyone by becoming stronger than they imagined. Though he trusted them completely, he saw no need to show off his abilities just yet.
As he navigated the forest, a large dog-like monster lunged at him from behind the trees. Already aware of its presence, Grey didn't even glance back. He continued towards his destination. The monster, about to pounce, suddenly collided with an invisible barrier, halting its attack.
Far ahead, Grey smirked. "Radient Strike," he murmured, and a beam of golden light shot from his hand, obliterating the monster.
Monsters and beasts were different; beasts could be tamed and had a semblance of intelligence, often coexisting with other creatures. They were connected to magic in a way that allowed them to thrive in magical environments. Monsters, however, were mindless, driven by a primal urge to destroy and consume. They were creatures like goblins and orcs, part of the monstrous races. Unlike dark magic, which dealt with manipulating shadows and fear, monsters used evil magic, a corrupting force that spread chaos and malevolence.
After an hour, Grey arrived at his destination. It was a large, open area with a 20-meter radius, filled with stone and wooden monuments. The ancient energy flowing through the place was palpable. Grey had found this spot by accident, teleporting here with his space magic.
He approached a beautiful pillar topped with an oddly familiar plate. The inscription on the pillar read "Thalassar's Trials." His time in the library paid off as he easily deciphered the text.
Grey moved closer to the pillar, sensing the primordial space mana emanating from the plate. He studied its intricacies, trying to understand its function. Suddenly, a strong wind swept over the area, and a white light enveloped him. In an instant, he found himself in a place where everything was made of stone and bricks.
The shift was disorienting, but Grey's mind quickly adapted. He realized he was in an ancient ground.
Grey could easily conclude that he was inside the trial ground. He didn't know how, but since he was here, he would at least see what was the trial that most people had failed to pass.
Suddenly, a voice echoed throughout the surroundings. "Welcome to Thalassar's Trials. Only those who are younger than 18 can participate."
The ancient, robotic voice made Grey frown. He sensed magic in it, a type he was unfamiliar with, which made him very excited. Searching through his memories, he realized it was sound magic, used to amplify and control sound by manipulating frequencies and other aspects.
He dismissed his curiosity for now and focused on the trial. The voice spoke again, "Move towards the place where the red square is marked on the floor."
Grey had already noticed it and walked over, standing beside the square. Suddenly, a large pillar rose from the ground, bearing an odd instrument he recognized: a mana capacity tester.
"Place your hand over the artifact. If the bowl shows more than 5000, you pass the test. If not, you fail and will be expelled from the trial with no re-entry," the voice explained.
Grey placed his hand over it. The crystal block showed no number, making him frown. Just as he was about to speak, the voice interrupted, "You have passed the first trial. Now move towards the triangle on the ground and stand over it."
Grey didn't argue and moved towards the triangle, standing on top of it. Suddenly, he was transported to another room filled with weapons, training dummies, targets, and various training equipment.
"Now, run 1000 kilometers without using mana, relying solely on your physical strength," the voice commanded.
"Why is the trial like this? It's as if it's testing our powers and checking if we are eligible to fight something. Maybe in the last trial, we'll have to face magical beasts, regular beasts, or even monsters," Grey muttered to himself. He had a habit of talking to himself, usually while calculating or pondering something.
He positioned himself to run and, just as he was about to start, asked the voice, "Is there any time limit?"
The AI replied, "There is no time limit, but there is a gift left by the lord of the city if you pass with good results."
"Oh, that's good. Let's end this as soon as possible," Grey said.
Boom! He launched himself forward, moving with such speed that a shockwave formed. Grey's speed was impossible for any seven-year-old child, running at about 200 kilometers per hour. Despite his impressive speed, Grey felt disappointed. He had never tried running without mana or using any magic spells.
"It seems I am lacking in my physical abilities. I have to improve them. After leaving this place, I will make a perfect schedule so I can practice everything I want," Grey resolved as he kept running.
After five hours of continuous running, Grey finally stopped, hearing the voice again, "Congratulations, you have passed the second trial."
Grey, despite his remarkable stamina, was breathing heavily, sweat flowing like rivers from his body. He collapsed onto the ground to recover, his mind already planning the next steps of his journey.
After a few minutes of rest, Grey stood up. As if sensing his readiness, the AI voice said, "For the next trial, pick up any weapon of your choice and you can't use mana."
Grey wasn't tense when he heard that they couldn't use magic in the these rounds. He knew there would be moments where he wouldn't be able to rely on mana. Grey had been preparing himself, increasing his physical abilities so that if one day he was unable to use mana, his physical prowess and techniques would greatly help him.
Grey glanced at the weapons hanging on the walls but found none to his liking. "I think I can use my own weapon since the AI said any weapon of my choice," he thought. He retrieved his katana from his dimensional pocket storage. Although he preferred to keep his katana with him, it was inconvenient to explain its presence and why he was carrying it if someone were to see it.
"You have to destroy 100 training dummies within an hour for this round. The trial will start as soon as you enter the circle on the floor," the voice instructed.
Grey immediately calculated, "If this is just a round, then there will be more rounds for the third trial." He steeled himself for the extended challenge.
Grey walked towards the circle. As he stepped into it, the dummies started to move, launching themselves at him with great speed. He calmly observed the 100 dummies dashing towards him and said, "Void Blade: 2nd Form—Phantom Strike."
In an instant, Grey teleported from his position, appearing behind the dummies. Thud! A dummy fell. Thud! Thud! Thud! More and more dummies collapsed until not a single one remained standing.
"You have completed the first round," the voice announced. "The second round will start in one minute. You have to destroy 1,000 dummies within an hour."
Grey silently waited, his katana at the ready. Soon, the minute passed, and a thousand dummies appeared in front of him.
Just like before, he didn't waste any time. Grey teleported from his position, this time appearing on the left side of the dummies. In a blink, he teleported again, now on the right side. All of this happened within a second.
Slowly, every dummy fell again.
"You have passed the second round. For the third round, you have to destroy 100,000 dummies within an hour. You can use magic for this round," said the voice.
Grey calmly glanced at the appearing dummies and whispered as his hand reached towards his katana, "Void Blade: Magic Form First—Eternal Shatter."
In a flash, Grey's katana glowed with an ethereal light, resonating with his powerful magic. He vanished and reappeared in a flurry of movements, his blade slicing through the air with precision and speed. The sheer force and magic behind each strike created shockwaves that reverberated through the trial ground.
The dummies began to fall, disintegrating into fragments under the relentless onslaught of Grey's strikes. Within moments, the entire field was cleared.
"You have passed the third round,"
"Congratulations, for passing the third trial"
Grey didn't say anything or do anything; he simply waited for the next trial.