At the center of the Trial Grounds, in a circular hall.
As Crystal Winslow stepped out of the passageway, her cold gaze quickly swept around.
Just as she was about to find a corner to rest and wait for the other two—
"Hey!"
A clear voice suddenly rang out.
Crystal's steps abruptly halted, a trace of surprise flashing through her usually calm eyes.
She quickly turned, looking incredulously towards the source of the voice.
Only to see Aster Grant leaning lazily against a stone pillar, with Lazuli quietly hovering beside him.
That familiar Angelic Beast was now tilting its head curiously at her.
"You..."
Rarely was Crystal, who always stayed composed, at a loss for words.
In the recent trial, she had given it her all, and the Ice Phoenix had also exerted its full strength.
Even so... she was still a step slower than this person?
After a moment of silence, Crystal finally stepped forward, her cold voice carrying a hint of hesitation:
"How long... have you been here?"
Aster looked up, meeting the slight frown of the ice queen, and replied casually:
"About ten minutes or so."
"!"
Crystal's pupils shrank slightly.
A ten-minute difference!
This meant that the strength of the other's tamed beast far surpassed the Ice Phoenix!
Perhaps sensing its owner's thoughts, the Ice Phoenix on Crystal's shoulder flapped its wings indignantly.
After calming the Ice Phoenix, Crystal nodded at Aster and turned to walk towards the other side of the hall.
Yet her cold gaze still occasionally drifted between Aster and Lazuli.
Time ticked away in silence, and there was no movement from the third passage.
Aster's expression gradually turned serious.
Caelus Quinn probably encountered some trouble; otherwise, he wouldn't take this long without clearing the trial.
Crystal also furrowed her brows, her slender fingers unconsciously stroking the Ice Phoenix's feathers.
It had been hard enough gathering three SSS-Level talents this year, and if they couldn't clear this trial...
It was at this moment that Aster suddenly stood up.
"Lazuli, let's go!"
"Where are you going?" Crystal exclaimed, turning her head in shock.
"To rescue."
Simple words that made Crystal's pupils contract sharply.
She watched as Aster strode towards the entrance to Caelus Quinn's passageway, instantly understanding his intent.
"You're insane!"
Her always calm voice unusually rose in pitch.
The second test was all about individual abilities. If someone intervened, the difficulty would triple!
If the final round involved ten Awakening Tier Seven Reinforced Puppets, along with the stacked Balanced Force Fields...
No matter how strong Aster was, it would be impossible to clear.
Yet Aster's steps didn't show the slightest hesitation.
Even though Abel Vance promised that, regardless of the trial's outcome, he would hand over the Light Crystal to him.
But he was the kind of person who didn't want to owe favors.
If something could be done, it had to be done to the best of his ability.
"Lazuli!"
The Little Angel's eyes burned with intense battle spirit.
The master's will was the highest mission for the Beastbond!
No matter if it was a bottomless abyss or a mountain of blades and a sea of flames ahead, she would clear all obstacles for her master!
"Blazing Angel·Complete Liberation!"
In Crystal's shocked gaze, Lazuli transformed into a war angel bathed in Holy Flame, the crimson radiance illuminating the entire hall.
"Lazuli, once inside, you must first deal with half of the puppets immediately, otherwise, with the ten stacked Balanced Force Fields, even you would be suppressed."
"Understood!" Lazuli's voice carried unprecedented seriousness.
"Then—" Aster took a deep breath, "Charge!"
Their figures instantly disappeared into the shadowy passage.
Crystal stood stunned, the ice-blue of her eyes reflecting the gradually fading afterglow of the Holy Flame.
For a long time, she gently stroked the Ice Phoenix on her shoulder, her voice soft as if talking to herself:
"Ice Phoenix, do you think... we really deserve to be called geniuses?"
...
In the dark passage, the twisted branches of the Warbark Treant tightly protected Caelus Quinn at the center.
"Bang!"
Another heavy punch landed fiercely on the wooden trunk, as splinters flew, the Awakening Tier Seven Trial Puppet's eyes gleaming with a scarlet hue.
If not for the Warbark Treant's "Ironwood Barrier" skill, Caelus would probably have already been eliminated.
"Damn it..."
Curled up in the tree cocoon, Caelus gritted his teeth, his knuckles whitening from exertion.
The treant's whip hit the puppet but could only leave shallow marks...
They were caught in a bizarre stalemate.
"Damn it, why is this Trial Puppet so strong! Is this checkpoint really something a person can pass?"
Watching the unyielding attacks of the Trial Puppet on the Warbark Treant's body, Caelus looked incredibly grim.
"Treant, Root Strangulation."
The Warbark Treant's twisted roots burst from the ground, striking the puppet's chest like a giant serpent, only leaving shallow marks on the metal shell.
The Trial Puppet merely staggered back a few steps, its scarlet eyes flickering, before charging again.
The previous attack hadn't caused any substantial damage to the Trial Puppet.
Constructed from alloys, the Trial Puppet was the nemesis of physically inclined tamed beasts like Warbark Treant.
Moreover, after defeating this Trial-type Puppet....
In the next room, there were still three more Awakening Tier Seven Trial Puppets.
Thinking of this, a wave of despair arose in Caelus's heart.
"Should I... give up?"
But.
This thought had just surfaced when a deafening explosion erupted from the depths of the passage.
The blazing white light surged like a tide, instantly swallowing the Trial Puppet!
As the dust settled, Caelus's wide eyes reflected an absolutely impossible figure.
"How... how could it be you?!"
His voice stuck in his throat, fingers trembling slightly beyond control.
He never would have thought that the one coming to save him from the end would be Aster Grant—the one he initially looked down upon.
And Aster's appearance here meant... Caelus knew all too well.
Aster raised an eyebrow looking at the wood-chip-covered Caelus Quinn, "Oh, is Young Master Caelus so stunned by a puppet that he doesn't recognize his savior?"
"You! You..."
Caelus's face flushed, his outstretched finger drawing an arc of frustration in the air, unable to form a complete sentence.
"Alright," Aster retracted his joking expression, "Time to go, Young Master Caelus."
The last room's Trial Puppet had been dealt with by Aster, leaving the entire passage clear and open.
As Aster led the dazed Caelus back to the hall, the always-proud young noble still found himself in shock.
His gaze mechanically shifted between Aster and Crystal, forcing him to accept an absurd reality.
This guy from the 'countryside' not only outmatched him but might also be significantly stronger than the top genius of Oridian.
And at that moment, Crystal Winslow—
Her cold gaze was fixed intently on Aster, as if looking at a creature defying common logic.
He truly cleared a trial at three times the difficulty by himself!
He truly defeated ten Awakening Tier Seven Reinforced Trial Puppets!
...
...