'The first six trials could be considered as the main focus of the Gates of Awakening. With the monotony and predictability it offers, it allows the higher-ups to obtain a solid impression of those that wish to enter its gates.'
'Those that have only passed the first trial are considered to be of the lowest caliber, while those that have passed the sixth trial are noted to be of the highest priority when it came to focus.'
'Then, there's the final set of trials.'
'Unlike the first six trials, it would be more apt to called these final set of trials a giant trial that was split up into three smaller trials.'
'After all, as mentioned before, the obstacles barring you from reaching the final bottleneck are none other than the members of the Gates of Awakening that have made names for themselves in the past.'
'Or at least, the images that they've left for the Gates of Awakening to use,' added the voice posthaste.
'With that, you, the trial taker, shall have to face against nine images in total. In other words, nine images of official members from the Gates of Awakening.'
'Though most of them shall undoubtedly fight you with their weapons, some of these images shall choose to settle the victor through their specialties instead, whether it be production skills or other crafts.'
'Of course, the trial taker should rest assured that these images shall have a similar specialty to you when the situation arises.'
'In other words, fights that do not call for combat would instead call for your specialty instead, which would be the art of forging.'
'With all of that said, this final trial is called the Trial of Nine Stars.'
'You have 10 minutes to prepare.'
"…Man." Scratching the back of his head as he recalled the words spoken to him by the voice, Valyr sat on the ground as he gathered his thoughts.
After some time, he let out a low sigh.
"I guess I now know the reason why the voice said there's a massive spike in difficulty once faced with the final set of trials."
"After all, what trial could the Gates of Awakening throw at me other than having me fight not just one official member of the Gates of Awakening…"
"But nine?"
With how the Gates of Enlightenment had already given him a lot in terms of resources and rewards, the young man already had a faint impression of how strong the Gates of Enlightenment was in its heydays.
Then again, this impression was solidified even further after having experienced a memory of the Gates of Enlightenment at its golden era, heightening the position the Gates of Enlightenment had in his mind.
With that, since the Gates of Awakening was the organization that stood above the Gates of Enlightenment, it went without saying that the rewards and resources were far greater than what the Gates of Enlightenment could give him.
In fact, the rewards he'd obtained from the trials so far were considered more precious than what the Gates of Enlightenment gave him.
Though, just like how the Gates of Awakening had greater rewards and resources…
The same could be said for their members.
'I wouldn't be surprised if I were pitted against the image of a Myth-level member,' thought the young man, shuddering as he thought about how anything he did would be rendered futile by such an opponent.
Fortunately, such questions were eventually cleared up by the voice after ten minutes had passed, explaining the Trial of Nine Stars in greater detail.
Though it could be said that the Gates of Awakening's nine trials were actually seven with how this was the final trial, the voice explained that the reason why the Gates of Awakening considered their trials to be nine was due to the final trial's mechanics.
Having to face nine opponents in a row in one trial, the Gates of Awakening thought that even the strongest trial taker would have problems completing the trial to the end.
With that, the Trial of Nine Stars was made in a way where three images would constitute one trial, making the Trial of Nine Stars equivalent to three trials.
Not only that, but to differentiate between the three smaller trials, the strength of the images the trial taker would see in each trial would differ by a class rank.
However, if there was one thing that was consistent among the images in these trials, the voice mentioned that it would be the fact that all of them were considered otherworldly prodigies in their time.
In other words, their abilities allowed them to fight against opponents at least two class ranks higher than them with ease.
In fact, the voice said that it was normal for them to fight against opponents three class ranks above them without much problem, causing Valyr to suck in a breath of cold air.
After being told that he could forfeit his attempt at clearing the Trial of Nine Stars at any time he wished, the young man inwardly let out a sigh of relief as he continued to rest on the ground.
"At the very least, I could still leave the inheritance with my life intact," murmured Valyr, letting out a dry chuckle.
"Though that'll come at the cost of basically being returned to Rank 2 and being booted out of the inheritance."
"Well… it's definitely better than being dead."
As the young man pondered over what kind of opponent he would be paired up against at the start of the trial, the ground began to madly shake at some point.
Rumble…
Feeling slight confusion for a brief moment, Valyr swiftly understood what was happening, prompting him to move out of the way as things started to jut out of the ground.
"I guess the first fight has something to do with forging."
With every passing second, the sight of two fully-equipped workshops appeared before Valyr's very eyes, reminding him of his experience during the second and fifth trial.
Though, just as he was about to make his way to one of the workshops, a silhouette of a human appeared in front of him all of a sudden.
"Huh."
"They really decided to use me as the first opponent."
"And against a youngster at that."
"…"
"Well, I guess this old geezer will just have to do his best."
