"Relax and prepare yourself, in a few moments, it will begin. You do not need to hold yourself back Andar, you are the Seed of our Tower, it is time you show the universe what that truly means."
With those words the Archmage ascended into the air where a separate platform had been placed, this one was shining bright with silver and gold, and four other figures ascended with him and they sat on their various thrones while watching the events about to transpire.
The five Archmages were here to watch over the event, because some of their most promising talents were here, all of whom needed to be guided and protected, but most importantly, the Underverse was a dangerous place, and even though the area around the Nyre Flower was safe for now, it would not remain this way for long.
Andar bowed at the departing figure of the Archmage, his movements were graceful as he sat cross-legged on the platform, his black jacket flaring around him.
Maru lowered his head to speak to Andar, "So, what's your plan, I know you don't like to show off, but sometimes you have to display your brilliance to awe the world, like me! I am the most beauti…"
"Leave him be Maru," his sister chided him, interrupting what was supposed to be a self adulating rant, "be more careful in your words and actions, also be useful and gather information on his competitors so he does not get any unexpected surprises later. You can at least do that with a small degree of competency I suppose."
Maru scoffed at her, flinging his curly hair to the side, "Why? It's not like any Mage here can be his equal, this is Andar we are talking about here, oh, thanks for the reminder, I should be setting up a betting platform… hmm, this one right here should do the trick, let my customer come to me and all that silly jazz… Now I just need to draw attention to my service."
Andar cracked an eye open, and threw a pouch towards Maru, "I place everything on myself." before he closed his eyes and continued to meditate.
"Good man," Maru laughed and he drew a short pink wand from his Interspatial Ring and began to write in the air leaving faint trails of pink dust.
His actions soon drew attention from the rest of the platforms and soon glinting motes of lights and pouches filled with Origin Crustals began to be collected by a grinning Maru.
The Mages in attendance here were all influential and popular geniuses, and in a short while the betting pool had reached tens of thousands of Origin Crystals, and except for a small cut to be taken by the house, in the betting competition, the winner takes all.
This meant most of the Mage here placed a bet on themselves, while some gathered around and placed the bet on a single one of their member who they felt had the ability to reap the most benefit in this exercise.
Andar looked at the growing pile of Origin Crystals and could not help but lick his lips, he always wanted more of this stuff than any other Mage, because his expenses alone were a hundred times greater than the average Mage.
With the competition about to begin, he pushed every distraction from his mind and sank into his Spirit Matrix. Having performed this action countless times in the past, it amazed him why the experience always felt a bit different every time he entered his Spirit Matrix.
The first thing he saw was the Light Devourer, the otherworldly creature was resting on the black and white Engraving Tiles, and its large size was blocking any outside observer from knowing how many Engraving Tiles he had unlocked.
The tentacles on the back of this massive bird seemed to have a mind of their own as their own and they waved around more excitedly as if they noticed the presence of Andar's Spirit. The smoke-like form of this creature was now more condensed, and there were times when Andar felt he was almost looking at living flesh coated by feathers blacker than night.
The past eighteen years in the Body Farm had been challenging in many aspects but he had excelled in all of them, was he not created to become the perfect Mage?
Being tutored by four different Archmages had transformed Andar into something phenomenal, and he did not shame his title as the Number One Under Heaven, for as an Acolyte Andar had managed to engrave a total of 396 Engraving Tiles in his Spirit Matrix, a record no one would ever hope to break, even the Archmages did not know the true extent of his accomplishment.
The Light Devourer that covered his Engraving Tiles seemed to be able to shield his Spirit Matrix from prying eyes, Andar had felt their touches many times and knew they were rebuffed by this creature. Andar pretended not to feel their touch, obviously, none of them sought to make an enemy of him or he feared they might have pushed the barrier of the Light Devourer aside and forcefully checked the extent of his progress.
What he indicated to the Archmages was that he had unlocked 199 Engraving Tiles and this feat made him a supreme genius in their eyes, and he wondered what they might think if they knew the real number.
Mira and Zaros were acclaimed as geniuses, but Zaros had become a Mage with 120 Engraving Slots unlocked and Mira had become a Mage with 152 Engraving Slots unlocked, Andar was the source of her motivation, so Mira had pushed until she exceeded her limits many times as an Acolyte.
It should be noted that Andar's Endless Vault Meditation Art was not meant to be truly compatible with a Mage, and for the past user of this Art, the best had been able to unlock 96 Engraving Tiles at their best, and that was when they became a Mage, they could only manage a paltry 37 Engraving Tiles as an Acolyte using this Meditation Art.
"Hello my friend, I have reached the limit as an Acolyte, and I will become a Mage today." Andar consciousness spoke to the Light Devourer, he had become used to this habit because he felt a growing connection between them.
A red light shone as the eyes of the Light Devourer opened a crack before it closed again. If there was any expression in those eyes, Andar could not see it, he only felt its hunger and pride.
