Legacy of the Dark Sage

Kyran looked at the sphere with a slight frown because he kind of knew what it was but did not know precisely how it worked. It was somewhat confusing, but he could not help it.

He sensed the sphere was a teleportation panel because he felt a faint connection to other locations within the tower. Yet, its surface bore no runes to confirm this or discernible instructions explaining how to use it. The sphere also glowed, which would typically indicate that it was active. But upon closer observation, it was inactive.

Most importantly, Auto-one did not mention a room like this when he explained the floor's layout to Kyran.

"This room... is not on my memory," Auto-one said to confirm Kyran's doubts.

Diara and the other Ancients also looked at each other in confusion. Unlike Auto-one, they knew the room. However, its appearance was what confused them.

"We know what this room is," Diara started slowly. "But this is not supposed to be located here. Unless..."

She looked in Kyran's direction with narrowed eyes before saying, "Did you command the tower to show this room?"

"'Command'?" Shiloh and Uilleam repeated in both shock and disbelief. They had a foreboding of what Diara meant when she said that, but they also felt it was a preposterous notion.

"I haven't even grasped the full meaning of having this privilege. How would I ask the tower to show me this room?" Kyran replied exasperatedly at Diara's remark.

Diara raised her brows in surprise, "But didn't you command the tower to send those people back there to another location?"

"..."

Only after hearing her words did most of them realize how the people who were supposed to be approaching them suddenly disappeared. Most of them believed those people had disappeared because they triggered something while they were going to them. They did not expect that it was Kyran who sent them to another location— or, at least, he was the one who commanded the tower to do it.

"I... guess I did. But the idea just crossed my mind, and the tower complied," Kyran explained. "But this room... I don't even know such a room existed."

"This room is what we refer to as a transfer pod," one of the Ancients named Ozim explained. "Normally, this room will appear to the participants who accumulated enough points to allow them to go to the next level."

"What?"

"The next level?"

Shiloh and Uilleam openly voiced their doubts.

"That is not how the tower sends participants to the next level," Shiloh added, looking at Clio suspiciously.

Zola, the other female Ancient, frowned at Shiloh and said, "And what do you know about it? It's not like you've been to the tower before."

"Not us, obviously," Shiloh replied while scowling at her. He then added, "But our clan has gone to the tower ever since it was discovered, and we have gathered enough data about it. Besides, our clan representatives were not weak enough to be stuck at one level.

From their report, once a group of participants successfully attained enlightenment or completed a particular number of challenges, they would be transported automatically to the next level. Or at least, the level the tower deemed appropriate for them."

"To be transferred to the next level, one needs enough points. It is not based on the challenges one completes nor how often they received enlightenment," Zola insisted.

"Once participants accumulate enough points, the tower will clear a route for them that leads to a room similar to this one," Kolt, another Ancient, followed up on an explanation after Zola. "And then they will get transferred to the next level. They cannot skip a level, mind you."

"Again," Shiloh was starting to get pissed at the Ancients by spouting things that he did not believe were true.

His reaction was understandable since he did not know that Diara and the others were the Ancients who practically invented the Tower.

"Don't just speculate things because there are people here who know more about the tower than small fry clans such as yours do," Shiloh told Kolt and Zola before looking at Cyneah.

"There is a Dragon Clan member right here who is one of the few who have participated in the tower since its discovery."

Diara and the rest of the Ancients were starting to get annoyed at Shiloh's attitude. But knowing that Kyran had marked them, they could only grit their teeth and voice their dissatisfaction politely.

"Can we clobber this guy? Please?" Diara asked Kyran.

"No," Kyran replied with a blank expression.

Did she think if she said please, her request would sound 'polite' and that he would allow it?

In any case, Kyran did not allow it, not because he wanted to protect Shiloh but because he could not be bothered.

Before the Ancients could protest, Kyran veered the discussion back on track.

"If this room is supposed to send us to the next level, that sphere should be active. How will we activate it?" he asked Diara and the other Ancients.

"Like we said, as long as one accumulates enough points, they can transfer to the next level," Diara repeated matter-of-factly.

"The pointing system you speak of, how does it work?" Cyneah asked, finally joining in the discussion.

"Good question," Diara commended. "How points are given differs on each level. But it is connected to the main theme of the challenges. For example, on this floor, the theme is Array and Smithing. In order for one to gain points, they either have to receive insights about these two or complete a challenge with good ratings."

"Those rules are not mentioned at the start!" Shiloh, yet again, tried to protest.

In his defense, he did not believe the tower would announce a vital rule, such as the point system, before sending the participants inside.

Diara ignored him and continued, "Ratings on each challenge will depend on its objective."

"The objectives of each challenge are not clear, though. So clearing a challenge might be different from completing it, am I correct?" Cyneah asked.

"That's right," Diara confirmed. "Well, this floor's challenges are pretty straightforward. You either defeat or reconfigure the puppets or automatons, decipher array formations, or conquer treasures."

Kyran already had a feeling that the point system would be like that. But confirming it made him uneasy. This was because he found a problem with what they were claiming. "The accumulation of points... is individual. The sphere's activation is also the same."

Diara smiled, "That's right. Being in the same group doesn't mean all three of you will receive the same points. So, if one of you does not have enough..."

"Then they will not be able to activate the sphere and move to the next level," Cyneah completed Diara's statement.

"It's good that you understand."

"Again—."

"Shut it, Blade Dancer boy," Diara snorted at Shiloh before he could protest again. "I don't care what kind of data your predecessors managed to gather about the tower. But if you want to follow that, go ahead. If you choose to ignore our advice, that's also fine. We cannot prove our claims, anyway, and we don't want to waste our time arguing with you.

"Besides, this room only appeared before us because of Null. Who gets to ascend to the next level is still up to each person."

"I may not be able to transfer then," Cyneah spoke first. "We barely faced any challenge, and I—."

"I'm not leaving you behind," Kyran assured her.

"But if the tower's rule is like that—."

"Then I'll change it."

Diara sighed, "You say you haven't grasped your privilege, yet you're declaring such bold things."

"It's not like I can't change the tower's rule."

Kyran spoke those words so confidently that they believed it was the case.

"Yes and no," Diara and the Ancients replied in unison. Though Kyran was not asking a question, they thought it best to warn him about possible limitations to his privilege.

"You can change the rules of the tower, but there is a limitation on how much you can change it. If the change you want to implement affects the tower's objective, then it will not comply. The tower may recognize you as the Realm Scion, but that does not mean you can override its authority fully," Dhruv, the Ancient whom Kyran struck earlier, explained.

Kyran fell silent.

Dhruv's explanation somehow made Kyran understand why he could not reconfigure the automatons earlier.

The objective of the last challenge might be to defeat the automatons rather than reconfigure their system. Thus, Kyran could not touch them.

But the automatons were not completely untouchable. He guessed that once the automatons were out of the challenge's range, their rules would no longer apply, and he could finally reconfigure them.

Of course, this was only Kyran's assumption at this point. The only way for him to confirm it was by transferring to the next level.

"In my opinion, there is a high chance you can take the young mistress with you, but..." Dhruv looked at the others, "I don't think you can do the same with them, and... well, those two young dragons might have enough points if they succeed in conquering the treasure, but if they fail, they will have to remain here."

Kyran looked at Shiloh and Uilleam. He could not leave the two behind. However, given that their primary objective in participating was to find him and not to look for treasures, they probably did not complete that many challenges, thus not having enough points.

"Go," Cyneah told Kyran. "I believe you should reach the highest level of the tower as soon as possible."