"Mngh… what the hell happened…?" After what felt like an incredibly long time, Valyr gradually opened his eyes as he sat upright, feeling a bit of soreness from his back due to how he fell. For a few seconds, he looked at his surroundings in slight confusion, only to become alert not long after as he realized that something was off.
"Wait a second…"
"Where am I?" Looking around his current surroundings, Valyr was greeted only by the sight of the purest white, with its sheer whiteness making him wonder how such purity was even possible in the first place. Even as he stood up and walked around the surroundings to see if there was a limit to the space, he could not distinguish which part was the floor, the wall, or the ceiling at all.
To him, it was as if he was looking at a blank white screen.
"Let me try and recall what happened before I got here." Seeing as there was not much point in walking around, even after pushing his body to his utmost limit in terms of speed, Valyr eventually decided to sit down and mull over how he had entered this place, tracing his steps back to when the large parchment and the tattered parchment from the demilich's robe had fused together.
"After the two parchments fused together, the extra portions of the parchments dissipated into thin air, with a large triangular piece of parchment being the only thing remaining on it," muttered Valyr as he thought out loud. "Then, out of nowhere, the triangular parchment shrunk in size, transforming into a piece of parchment that could fit within my palm, even though all of the runes were still there."
"After that, since I was curious as to what the true purpose of the magic circle on the parchment was, I moved closer to grab the parchment and look at it…" At this point of his train of thought, Valyr scratched the back of his head as he let out a faint sigh. "But what happened after that was me appearing in this white space."
"Well, that definitely helped out with sorting my thoughts, but not really helping out in giving me the answer as to why I'm here." Sitting in silence for a bit as he looked at his surroundings once more to see if anything would change, Valyr eventually commanded the system to bring up his notification screen, thinking that he might obtain a clue to his current situation.
Ding!
"For one, the quest is completed." With the notification sound resounding in his mind, the young man faintly nodded as he read through the notifications he received regarding the completion of the quest. "If that's the case, then I guess this is my reward for completing it."
"Eligible to meet with the Sage of Erudition…" Muttering out these words, Valyr rummaged through his memories to see if he had come across a being like that back when he was a player, only to come up empty-handed soon after.
"Some other player probably came across this guy and kept it a secret," said Valyr to himself as he thought about a couple possibilities as to why he had not come across the being in the past. "Or perhaps he wasn't even in the public release in the first place."
"Either way, I'm incredibly curious as to who this Sage of Erudition is."
"Curious, huh?" Hearing a voice behind him respond to his question, Valyr tensed up as his eyes briefly widened in shock, the gears in his mind turning at their fastest as he wondered when the owner of the voice had appeared. Continuing to remain vigilant, the young man gradually turned to look in the direction of the voice's origin, only to find a certain being sitting on what seemed to be a throne made out of carved marble.
As for the owner of the voice he had just heard, it was a man that looked to be three heads taller than Valyr, wearing a set of clothes that would be best described as a white tuxedo that had a few gold trimmings and adornments here and there.
Aside from that, multiple lines that glistened a faint blue coursed throughout the man's olive green skin, forming a distinct contrast of color that surprisingly complimented the man's ash gray hair and golden yellow eyes.
"After waiting for so long, a human has finally succeeded in completing my trial." Whilst Valyr was still wondering where the man had come from, the latter decided to speak out of his own accord. "In fact, you are the first one to do so ever since I created the trial."
"I'm the first one? Really?" Unsurprisingly, Valyr felt a hint of disbelief at the man's claim, recalling that the dungeons of the Lesser Meltierre Mountains had been established by the Meltierre Empire a long time ago. "If you don't mind me asking, when did you create the trial?"
Surely, a trial made by the man would have been created at around the same time, no?
Surprisingly, no.
"Around a decade ago, if my memory serves me correctly," said the man to Valyr, leaving the latter with his mouth slightly agape as he felt even more disbelief. However, as he continued to look at the tall man on the throne and his stern expression, Valyr's doubts regarding the matter gradually faded away.
After all, why would the man need to lie to him about something like that?
"Though I still have a small hint of doubt regarding your words, I won't ask about it any further," said Valyr while the man continued to look at him. "Instead, I would like to ask… who are you?"
"Who am I?" At those words, the man flashed a faint smile. "Surely the system has already mentioned to you my identity, has it not?"
"Are you the one that's called the Sage of Erudition, then?" Valyr raised his eyebrow in curiosity as he asked back.
"That is indeed me." The man nodded. "However, that title barely scratches the surface of who I am and what my achievements are."
"I am the innovator and pioneer of a certain field of magic many in the world swear their life by."
"I am the creator of a fighting style that caused millions on the battlefield to shudder at its sight."
"I am the pinnacle of magic, the pinnacle of strength, and the pinnacle of intelligence in one entity."
"My name is An'xhur Khagarax, the Sage of Erudition."
"An'xhur Khagarax…" While listening to the man's introduction, Valyr focused on the man's name, feeling like he had heard the man's name somewhere before. However, after pondering over it for a bit, he realized that it was not the man's name that was familiar, but the man's surname instead.
After a while, a thought surfaced in his mind as he looked at An'xhur with a solemn expression.
"Are you… an orc?" As this question left Valyr's mouth, An'xhur looked back at him for a bit before nodding.
"Partly. I am what you would call a half-orc."
"A half-orc…" Though Valyr had only come across a few half-orcs in his journey in Greater Beyond back when he was a player, all of them were considered famed existences in their own right, all boasting strength greater than an orc and intelligence greater than a human. With such a combination, their names were known throughout multiple planets and star systems, with some even being known throughout galaxies.
Taking in a deep breath to collect his thoughts, Valyr decided to shift the topic away from An'xhur's species. "You being a half-orc aside, what is the purpose behind this trial? What is the purpose behind this meeting of ours?"
"If you're pertaining to the collection of the runic parchments as the trial, then you could say that it was my method of assessing someone who had the strength and intelligence necessary to act out the task I would ask of them." An'xhur looked at Valyr with a calm and cool expression. "After all, it's no easy feat for even a Rank 2 class holder like you to clear the Rare Abyss. Even more so if you take into consideration the methods of obtaining the two remaining runic parchments."
'But I didn't really put much thought into those…' Listening to An'xhur's words, Valyr briefly thought about how he had not really put much effort into obtaining the last two parchments. Though, he tossed those thoughts aside for now as the man continued talking.
"As for this meeting we're holding at the moment, it is to relay to you the task which I shall ask of you," said An'xhur. "Though you are free to decline after listening to my task, I'd suggest listening to everything first before making your decision."
"I am all ears, then." Taking An'xhur's words to heart, Valyr faintly nodded. "So, what's the task that you want me to do?"
"At your current level of strength, it is by no means simple, but I assure you that you will reap a lot out of it once you accomplish it."
"And the task would be…?"
"That would be to exact revenge on my killer," said An'xhur, his expression still calm as always.
