— — — — — —
The Next Mont
The sky turned gray, heavy clouds rolling in. The once solemn, ancient temple hall now shimred with flashy luxury—an extravagant palace that scread wealth and power.
Ryo realized instantly—he had entered the designated gift ga arena.
In Little Garden, beings at the four-digit level or higher typically crafted their own ga fields. These personalized domains enhanced their Divinity and amplified their power.
These arenas could range in size from an entire city to a whole planet—hell, even a mini star system if they felt like it. Subtlety was never the style here.
This ti, though, the arena for the Perseus Trial was relatively modest. Ryo scanned the space—roughly the size of Tokyo, about 2,000 square kiloters.
But here's the kicker: that entire area had been used to house one single palace.
And judging by the ridiculously over-the-top support columns—lined with gold, silver, and encrusted with diamonds—the extravagance was on a whole other level.
Ryo held his breath for a mont, silently attuning himself to the surroundings, waiting for the trial's rules to be announced.
Before long, a familiar voice rang out. It was Aishelia Perseus: "Let explain the trial's objective."
"Inside this palace lie four divine relics once held by my ancestor, Perseus: The Helm of Hades, Hers' Winged Boots, Athena's Shield, and Phorcys' God-Pouch."
"Use any one—or more—of these relics to defeat the dusa within the palace. That's your victory condition. Fail, and you'll be turned to stone. Simple."
"That's all. Best of luck."
Her voice faded, and Ryo felt the space around him shift. The trial had truly begun.
A sudden, overwhelming force slamd into him from the east—like a hurricane and a mountain crashing down at once.
The madness of the Demon Star, Algol, had arrived.
"This pressure…"
Ryo's eyelids twitched hard. The atmosphere was suffocating.
Looking around, he noticed the gemstones embedded in the walls and pillars… twitching. Blinking. Watching.
Algol's madness was so strong that even the inanimate objects had begun gaining sentience—turning into fledgling demons.
Being a variable star, Algol had great magical capabilities since ancient tis. She used to have the power to create and spread any sort of poisonous animals or demon, but due to her sealed state she can only perform a handful of actions.
Which is why she held the terrifying authority to demonize anything around her.
Granted, her Divinity was sealed—so her authority was capped at the four-digit level.
"Still, even with that restriction, the longer this goes on, the more these things around will transform into demons… and they'll keep evolving."
If he hesitated for even a mont, the entire arena could turn into a sea of five-digit-level demons, burying him alive.
"So I've gotta finish this fast, huh?"
Ryo's heart sank. This was seriously bad.
Fighting a god who used to be a three-digit but is currently a four-digit… and doing it under a ti limit? That's a death sentence.
He was pretty sure Perseus himself didn't have to deal with sothing this insane back in the day.
So what now? Could he still go through with the original plan?
Ryo stood still, eyes flickering with thought.
— — —
Inside the palace
Aishelia sat on the throne, chatting casually with Leticia.
"Sending soone in with five-digit strength is reckless, Leticia-sensei."
She hesitated, looking a little embarrassed.
"Back when my grandfather defeated Lord Algol, he relied on blessings from the Greek gods and pulled off all kinds of tricks. But now? There's no divine backing for this challenger."
The difficulty of the Perseus Trial had long since surpassed even that of Heracles' Labors. Among Little Garden's upper ranks, this wasn't news.
Which is exactly why barely anyone ever ca to challenge it.
Too little reward, way too much risk. That was the general opinion of those sitting comfortably in the four-digit tier.
Aishelia wasn't optimistic about Ryo's chances.
Then, from the side, Laius scoffed arrogantly: "Hmph. A five-digit trying to beat the Demon Star? Ridiculous. If he has any sense, he'll just try brute-forcing it. At least then he'll die quickly."
"Laius!" Aishelia scolded sharply, frowning.
Laius gave a slight bow, offering a token apology to the two ladies. As for Ryo? He wasn't even worth his attention.
Leticia, seated opposite Aishelia, took a sip of wine and sighed.
"Logically, I know there's no way he succeeds. But emotionally? A part of wants to bet on him."
"There's sothing about him—a weird kind of confidence that makes you feel like he really can pull off the impossible."
She chuckled, then continued:
"Two hundred years ago, Canaria told that Arcadia was destined to fall. I didn't believe her. Then ca the War—and we lost over 90% of our strength."
"Now, two centuries later, she says Arcadia's revival depends on this new generation—Ryo and Black Rabbit. I'm only half-convinced this ti."
"But recently, sothing changed my mind."
Aishelia raised a brow. "What was it?"
Leticia held up her hands and grinned: "He mastered a way to stabilize space… in under ten seconds."
Laius looked at her like she was insane. "Are you drunk? That's impossible!"
"Ten seconds…?" Aishelia murmured, her skepticism wavering.
Leticia wouldn't have brought Ryo here so soon unless she'd seen sothing truly incredible.
Aishelia let out a long breath.
"Only a few omniscient-level beings could do that… and even then, only the rare ones who've stepped onto the true path of all-knowing."
Laius snorted in disbelief. "Can't believe you're actually buying into this crap, my lady! A five-digit pseudo-god having traits only the highest existences possess? Absurd."
Leticia didn't argue. This was sothing you had to see for yourself to understand.
So people… really are built different.
Aishelia raised her glass with a soft chuckle. "I believe you, Sensei. But I still don't think he'll pass the trial."
"Neither do I," Leticia admitted with a smile.
"But I really want to see him try."
"Unbelievable…" Laius grumbled, clearly losing his mind at how weird these two were acting.
— — —
Back in the trial arena.
Ryo had only spent a few seconds analyzing the situation.
And then, right there at the "newbie spawn point"... The final boss appeared.
A purple-haired girl stood casually in the doorway, wearing a shoulder-baring leather outfit wrapped in restraints. One hand rested on her hip. In the other, she held a tiny mirror. She twirled her hair with a finger and spoke in a calm, almost bored tone:
"So you're the one, huh? Al-chan's challenger for today?"
The Demon Star Algol had arrived. And she was staring him down.
.
.
.
User Comments
0 comments from readers