"Hart, how many floors do you think he'll reach? I recall his sister made it straight to the top floor on her first attempt. I wonder how far he'll get."
Not long after Lyn entered the tower, the instructor who had registered him spoke up, seemingly to ease the tension. He addressed the instructor who had earlier tried to mock Lyn.
Hart frowned at the question, then sneered. "If he completes even one sigil, he’ll be lucky."
The Sage Tower had seven floors.
But that didn’t mean every entrant needed to perfectly imprint all seven sigils to reach the seventh floor.
The tower’s teleportation mechanism adapted based on the entrant’s rank.
For a Fourth Rank to complete all seven sigils was next to impossible.
Knowing how brutally the Sage Tower tested sigil memorization, Hart’s mockery deepened. "That waste’s sister reached the top on her first try because her talent and bloodline were strong enough to memorize four sigils at merely Fourth Rank."
"Memorizing just two full sigils already marks you as a genius—enough to climb high."
"How could a trash talent stuck at Third Rank for years possibly have that kind of gift?"
Hart snorted. Yet his expression darkened afterward.
Though he doubted Lyn could climb high, the fact that Lyn had broken through to Fourth Rank—and even aimed for the Dawnstar Trial selection—was unexpected.
Outside the academy, many didn’t want to see Lyn stand out at Holy Eton Academy.
A worthless Lyn was what they needed.
Now that the brat had shattered his bloodline shackles and reached Fourth Rank, this variable had to be reported. It was the task his patron had assigned him.
But considering that noble’s usual schedule, they’d likely arrive soon anyway. Hart suppressed the urge to send an immediate message, deciding to wait and report in person.
Still, though he thought Lyn had zero chance of climbing high, caution made him contact senior students training inside the tower. He’d have them monitor Lyn’s progress. Just in case that piece of trash somehow got lucky and climbed far—he wouldn’t take the blame.
As for watching the top floor?
…Hart hadn’t even considered it.
He had no contacts up there. And with that trash’s garbage talent—stuck at Third Rank for so long—if he somehow reached the top, Hart would eat ten pounds of shit in public!
. . .
Inside the Sage Tower, Lyn’s stone chamber was utterly silent.
He hadn’t pushed the outer stone door. Its glow was fading.
The sigils on the stone tome dimmed too.
But Lyn didn’t care.
His palm gently traced the tome’s surface. Under his touch, arcane lines emerged—one by one. He could feel every contour, even sensing how mana flowed through them.
Though his mind still couldn’t form a complete sigil, Lyn knew clearly: if he willed it, his Hand of the Divine could effortlessly reconstruct all seven sigils here.
That was utterly unreasonable.
*I never wanted to cheat*, Lyn thought.
But with meat already at his lips, refusing felt rude.
He was confident he could carve all seven sigils within a month through sheer effort—grinding his mental fortitude, nurturing his spirit, practicing relentlessly.
It would take a long time.
And even after all that effort, the reward was merely qualification for the top floor. There was no guarantee he’d find a suitable Meditation Technique.
Worse—he was desperately short on time.
"Anyway, once I get a Meditation Technique, I can always return to practice these sigils. Since I have the key now, it’s only natural to open the door and peek inside first."
Lyn rationalized it. Memorizing sigils here was training, yes—but training with a proper technique would be far more efficient.
Having somewhat appeased his conscience, Lyn channeled mana along the arcane pathways his palm sensed.
Sigils emerged under his touch—seamless and natural, like antelope horns hanging from the sky. They linked together, forming seven indescribably beautiful runes.
Lyn glanced up.
The seven sigils glowed on the stone tome, floating gently upward.
Countless specks of light shimmered around them, rippling with hazy halos. They reminded Lyn of the starry void above that ancient hall.
Before he could fully process it, the sigils shattered. Their fragments surged toward him, enveloping his body.
Soon, the glittering specks melted into his skin. No matter how Lyn searched, he felt no change.
Behind him, the stone door now pulsed with light, waiting to be opened.
Lyn paused, considering whether to examine his body further. Then he turned, pushed the door open, and left the chamber.
After he’d gone—
In the chamber’s pitch-black silence, a soft, drowsy *"meow"* sounded out of nowhere.
On the platform holding the stone tome, a black cat had materialized out of thin air.
She stared at the door Lyn had exited, then examined the now-blank tome. With a casual swipe of her paw, all seven sigils reappeared. They floated obediently before her, as if plucked by invisible strings.
She stared long and hard at the slightly dimmed runes.
. . .
Lyn had truly entered the tower’s inner space.
Beyond the stone door lay no light.
Thick darkness clung to everything.
Yet at its center, a soft glow seemed to slumber within the gloom.
The crimson light in Lyn’s pupils flickered—but couldn’t pierce the viscous dark. He focused on the central glow instead, cautiously approaching and reaching out.
The light shattered in his palm.
Instantly, gentle rays burst forth, flooding the darkness and illuminating the entire room.
It was a narrow, circular space. Looking up, Lyn saw a vaulted ceiling carved with intricate patterns—seven hazy humanoid figures.
Their forms radiated an uncanny majesty, gazing down upon the mortal realm from heavenly realms beyond clouds and divinity.
Seeing the ceiling, Lyn understood—
He had reached the top floor of the Sage Tower.
This was the tower’s most secret, highest treasure vault—a repository of Meditation Techniques leading to pinnacle realms.
Throughout history, every student who entered this floor through the Sage Tower later became renowned.
Unless they fell midway.
Of course.
To Lyn, that sounded like stating the obvious.
—*If they hadn’t failed, they’d succeeded.* Kind of obvious.
No Meditation Technique or artifact guaranteed ascension.
Even with his system, strength demanded effort.
But since he’d made it here… perhaps he could save his Authority and the resources his sister had given him?
Barring accidents, he should find a suitable Meditation Technique among these treasures, right?
