"Everyone. I am Aleksy, the member of the Sunflower Academy, which is part of the Sunflower Guild in the capital city."

A burly man with a bizarre haircut and bright red lipstick spoke loudly.

"We are all here for one goal, and that is getting rewards from the Ancient Domain."

He struck a pose. He had a massive, muscular body squeezed into a cute pink dress, complete with heavy makeup. It was petrifying, to say the least.

"Hence, I believe it should be clear that there must be no killing going on here. If you guys even slightly decide to kill someone, then I will personally take action myself." The giant man winked at the other males, whose faces immediately darkened in horror.

"Caelus, stay behind me," Sylvia whispered cautiously, eyeing the man. "He is a dangerous individual. Do not look his way."

Caelus’s lips twitched. Why was she saying it like he was going to get charmed by this burly guy? Did Sylvia have that little faith in him?

Soon, they stepped through the gate and entered the Ancient Domain.

The air was thick with fog and swirling sand. High above, a massive golden sun beat down on them, baking the yellow, cracked earth. The heat was suffocating. The air shimmered with intense mirages.

"It is so hot in here," one player groaned. As soon as they entered, everyone began sweating profusely.

"Stay close to me, Sylvia. I will keep you cold," Caelus said, turning to her.

Sylvia immediately wrapped her arms tightly around Caelus. Instantly, the oppressive heat around her vanished. Caelus’s frost powers from his Frost Monarch talent erupted, wrapping them in a soothing, icy mist.

A blissful smile spread across her face as she clung to him. It was like heaven in the middle of a blazing desert.

The other men in the group, except for Aleksy, glared at Caelus with intense jealousy. They were clearly looking down on him. They were slightly better looking than Caelus and had a higher rank than him combined. If he can get a girl like that, why couldn’t they?

But in the end, they could only helplessly watch as Sylvia happily clung onto Caelus’s hand. They even doubted he had a hypnotizing talent that hypnotized this girl.

As for Mia, she did not even bother complaining about the heat. She wore an indifferent expression, walking a short distance away from the couple. It wasn’t that she didn’t feel the blistering sun, but she felt incredibly awkward watching them act so lovey-dovey in a deadly Ancient Domain.

"Everyone look! There is an entrance to that pyramid!" One of the players pointed ahead.

A dark spatial fissure swirled ominously right at the entrance of a towering stone pyramid.

Seeing this, the group sped up. One by one, they stepped into the tear in space.

Caelus’s vision violently blurred as he was teleported. When his sight finally settled, the soothing icy mist was gone. He realized Sylvia was no longer beside him. The air was dead, dry, and cold.

Ding!

[Welcome to the Trial of Osiris and Anubis.]

[Objective: Fight the Trial Bosses and gather their souls to be judged by the Scales of Anubis.]

[Alternative: You can choose to skip the Trial Bosses and go directly to the judgment area if you believe your soul carries more weight than Osiris’s feather. But if you fail, you will die permanently.]

[Restriction: In the trial area, you cannot heal yourself.]

As the system voice faded, the temperature in the sealed stone room plummeted further. A chilling draft swept through the air.

A figure materialized from the shadows.

It wore spiky gold and dark blue armor. A tall, tarnished silver helmet hid its face, revealing only a pair of glowing, blood-red eyes. Its dark, armored gloves rested heavily on the pommel of an ancient, rusted great sword.

It stood there, menacing and completely silent, waiting for Caelus to make the first move.

’A trial boss, huh?’ Caelus frowned.

He realized he could not see its stats. There was no health bar above its head. But a quick glance around the stone chamber confirmed there was no exit. There was only the way forward.

He had to fight this thing. It was either kill the boss or risk dying under the weight of Osiris’s scales. There was a reason this trial was placed here, after all.

Caelus pounced. His Origin Light Sword materialized in his grip as Chaos Axiom Energy engulfed the blade. His aura exploding outward.

He swung the blazing sword fiercely, aiming to cleave the knight in half right from the start.

CLANK!

Sparks exploded in the dim room. The knight effortlessly raised its ancient greatsword and blocked the heavy strike with a single hand.

"Useless," the knight muttered in a raspy, metallic voice that Caelus could perfectly understand.

"You can talk?" Caelus was stunned.

Ignoring the shock of a talking monster, Caelus swiftly tried to put some distance between himself and the knight.

But just as quickly, a blinding orange light flared inches away from his face. His blood ran cold.

PROJECTION FRAME!

His body blurred into fragmented frames, narrowly dodging the lethal horizontal slash just in time. The sheer wind pressure from the near miss sliced a shallow cut across his cheek.

’I did not even see it move,’ Caelus thought, his heart pounding.

Sure, he did not have his perception skill active, but his base stats were still terrifyingly high. There was no time to hesitate.

CHAOS PERCEPTION EYES!

His vision expanded immediately. The world slowed down slightly as he took in every microscopic detail.

Then, the stun effect of the eyes activated.

However...

Ding!

[Stun effect failed.]

That was not all. Even his Thunderclap debuff completely failed to take hold.

The knight slowly began walking toward him. The stuns and debuffs simply washed over its ancient armor like a gentle breeze.

Then, the very next instant, the knight vanished and reappeared right in front of him. Its rusted greatsword thrust directly toward his throat.

CLANK!

Caelus’s eyes blazed with danger. He parried the heavy thrust, his muscles bulging as he forcefully pushed the knight’s blade aside.

Without missing a beat, he activated one of his new spells and class skill.

REFLA!

INFERNO POINT!

A pillar of roaring fire erupted right where the knight stood. Caelus immediately layered his class skill over it, supercharging the flames to a terrifying, melting temperature.

However, much to Caelus’s dismay, the knight simply walked out of the blazing inferno. The dark blue and gold armor was completely unbothered by the heat.

But through his Chaos Perception Eyes, Caelus saw something crucial. A hidden HP bar inside the knight’s core was slightly draining.

’A boss with a hidden HP pool.’

Caelus’s mood immediately lifted. Since that was the case, it could be killed by damage.

ICICLE SPEAR IMPALEMENT!

POINT DEFENSE GRID!

LASER MANIPULATION!

He activated his Frost Monarch and technological skills simultaneously. Automated lasers and sharp, freezing icicles materialized in the air, raining continuous AoE damage upon the knight while he fought.

Without hesitation, Caelus charged in again.

CLANK! CLASH! BAM!

Their swords crossed repeatedly. Showers of sparks lit up the dark stone walls. Their speed was so fast that ordinary humans would never be able to track their movements. They clashed dozens of times in less than a single second.

Through his enhanced vision, Caelus realized the ancient armor had flaws. There were tiny, unprotected gaps between the joints. He aimed his strikes precisely at those weak points to score critical hits.

LIGHTNING SINGULARITY!

JIRASAD!

Caelus’s body crackled with violent electricity. He unleashed the singularity, tearing into the boss. Immediately after, complex magical circles flared to life around the knight. The corrosive black lightning of Jirasad crashed into the armor alongside the singularity.

However, from the center of the chaotic lightning storm, a thick orange beam shot straight toward Caelus’s chest.

He immediately snapped his fingers, activating his mental processor.

DIVINE CALCULATION!

"Iris."

WHRMM!

An anti-magic barrier instantly appeared over his body. The deadly orange beam crashed into his body, only to violently shatter into shards of fragmented energy like broken glass.

"Magic does not work on me," Caelus grunted.

He charged in once again. He thrust the Origin Light Sword forward just as the knight mirrored his movement.

The knight’s blade plunged straight into Caelus’s chest, dangerously close to his heart.

But Caelus did not care. He ignored the agonizing pain and the smell of his own blood. His target was the unprotected gap around the knight’s neck. the exact fatal weak point his Chaos Perception Eyes had highlighted.

SLASH!

The Origin Light Sword tore deep into the unprotected flesh of the neck.

But just as quickly, the knight kicked him squarely in the stomach.

BAM!

Caelus flew backward, puking up a mouthful of warm blood. He skidded across the stone floor and looked up.

Thick, black blood oozed from the knight’s neck. Its head tilted unnaturally to the side, barely hanging on to its shoulders. The automated lasers and icicles were still continuously raining down, chipping away at its health.

Yet, the knight just kept walking toward him, completely unfazed.

"What a freak. It is still not dead even after that," Caelus cursed, wiping his mouth.

He was in a bad state, and he could not afford to die here permanently. He quickly checked his energy reserves.

[CA: 100/220]

There was very little left. He knew exactly what he had to do to end this.

Several distinct powers surged out of Caelus’s body in quick succession. He slammed his hand onto the stone floor.

TURN STONE INTO GOLD!

EARTH BENDING!

The stone beneath the knight instantly transmuted into solid gold. The next moment, the entire chamber trembled. Caelus manipulated the heavy metal with a wave of his hand. Massive blocks of gold tore out of the floor, flying toward the knight and latching heavily onto its armored limbs.

Caelus then unleashed his terrifying telekinesis, piling immense pressure onto the knight to crush its speed entirely.

Then, he moved.

INFERNO POINT!

HOLLOW INFERNO TORNADO!

JIRASAD!

REFLA!

LIGHTNING SINGULARITY!

HOLLOW FLAMES!

WEAPON LIGHT BARRAGE!

HOLY DISINTEGRATION!

A blinding symphony of destruction was unleashed. Magic circles, multi-colored lasers, crackling black lightning, and roaring hollow flames erupted precisely where the knight was pinned.

The entire trial ground shook violently from the sheer magnitude of the combined attacks. The air smelled of ozone and melting metal.

Through the thick smoke and explosions, Caelus closed in fast.

MYRIAD MOVES OF THE HEAVENLY SWORD!

AURA DENSITY!

He saw the knight’s silhouette still standing amidst the fire. He knew it wouldn’t just die from the barrage alone.

He swung his sword fiercely, accelerating through the forms and reaching the ultimate seventh move in an instant. He locked his eyes onto the knight’s mangled neck.

SLASH!

He poured every last ounce of force into his arms. The blade cleanly sheared through the remaining flesh, bone, and armor.

The knight’s helmeted head flew off its shoulders and bounced across the cold stone floor.

Ding!

[You have eliminated the Trial Boss.]

[You have obtained the Powerful Soul of Menes.]

[Your HP and CA has been restored]