Nolan raised his hand. A white light flashed in the air and his pitch-black sword with white lines slowly emerged. As Selena formed a water ball and threw it at the dragon, Nolan swung his sword.
A black, crescent-shaped arc shot out, right behind Selena's water ball.
The black dragon roared again. Pressure spread, shattering the water ball before it could reach the dragon. However, his Eclipse Cleave was unaffected by the roar.
The slash struck the black, scaly dragon in the face.
A howl of pain echoed. The dragon struggled wildly in the air, its body twisting uncontrollably for a few seconds, providing an unexpected opening.
Julian, already back on his feet, didn't waste the opportunity. He leaped forward, grabbed the dragon's tail with both hands, and unleashed all his might.
With a loud shout, he swung the dragon's body and slammed it to the ground.
Boom!
The ground shook.
Julian stood there, panting. His face was scarred and his body was covered in minor injuries, but he was filled with joy. He jumped slightly, like a child who had just won a game.
"I beat that annoying snake!" he shouted proudly.
Selena put her hands on her hips and glared at him angrily.
"Where did you defeat it, you idiot?" she asked sharply, though she couldn't hide her faint smile. "If it weren't for Nolan opening the gap, we wouldn't have taken that thing down."
Vincent snapped his fingers.
The scaly, black dragon lying on the ground shuddered and slowly rose. Selena and Julian immediately went on guard, their bodies tensing. But the dragon didn't attack. A black portal opened, and the dragon slid through before disappearing completely.
The black-robed man calmly descended to the ground, as if what had just happened were just a little game.
"You attacked without reading the flow of the battle," Vincent said flatly, his words still sharp. "Acting rashly and getting hurt. That's not courage—that's stupidity."
Mercilessly, knock, knock! He struck Selena and Julian on the head, one after the other.
"Ouch!"
"Ouch!"
They both winced and rubbed their heads, but neither dared to argue. Nolan could see it clearly—Vincent's brief tantrum had left a heavier psychological impact than their physical injuries. "Because the previous Transcendental Trial ended in chaos," Vincent continued, "the Aurora Association is offering compensation to repeat the trial. This time, the security level will be much higher. Several Sentinel Masters and Sentinel Saints will be participating."
Vincent didn't turn toward the castle. Instead, he strode into the dense forest. He waved his hand lightly, a signal that Noah, Selena, and Julian immediately understood. They told him to follow them.
"You can use this time to increase your power," he added dryly.
Selena looked thoughtful, her arms folded across her chest.
"Nolan advanced to Sequence 2 in just two months after taking the Transcendence Trial," she said. "Mentor Vincent, doesn't advancing to Sequence usually take a long time, especially after obtaining the White Crystal Stone?"
"The main problem Sentinels face when attempting to advance," Vincent replied without looking up, "is the bottleneck in their mana cores during fusion with the White Crystal Stone. The question is, are you capable of breaking that bottleneck?"
Julian interjected as they advanced deeper into the forest.
"But Nolan managed to advance to Sequence 2. Even the Daemon race doesn't experience bottlenecks when advancing with the Black Crystal Stone. Isn't that embarrassing?"
Selena, who had been holding back, finally became irritated and kicked Julian in the leg.
"You don't even bother going to the library and reading the archives in class. No wonder you're so stupid," she grumbled. "You musclehead."
Julian immediately put on a miserable expression.
"I am the dumbest in class, after all."
Nolan saw Vincent pull a small, transparent box out from under his black coat and toss it toward Julian, who was walking behind him. Nolan immediately recognized its contents—a mana energy sphere, a Class B magical artifact possessed only by certain Sentinels.
Nolan had previously used a similar artifact to boost his mana aura, enabling him to reach Sentinel Saint Sequence 4 in a matter of hours. However, the side effects were obvious; his mana energy was depleted and took a long time to recover. The artifact was strictly not recommended except in dire circumstances.
"What is this thing?" Julian asked, holding up a transparent box containing a bright red mana energy sphere. His brow furrowed, showing his confusion about its value.
Selena immediately snorted.
"Muscle brain. It's a Grade B magic artifact—a mana energy sphere," she said irritably. "Swallowing one will increase your mana energy many times over and allow you to advance in rank."
"Whoa... jackpot." Julian's eyes lit up. He turned to Vincent expectantly. "Mentor Vincent, is this the solution to your mana bottleneck? Then it's very convenient."
Vincent didn't respond.
Selena simply massaged her temples as if Julian's stupidity suddenly made her head throb.
"Your luck is closer to death," Selena muttered in annoyance.
"Huh? Death?" Julian turned quickly to her.
Selena took a deep breath, then explained in a cold tone.
"The mana energy orbs only provide a temporary advantage. One orb lasts for about an hour. You'll feel like you're climbing the ranks quickly, but that's an illusion."
She glared at Julian.
"Once the effect wears off, your mana energy will be completely drained. You'll have to start from scratch. If you consume them repeatedly..." Selena paused, then continued in a somber voice, "I'll be happy to arrange your funeral."
Julian's expression stiffened immediately. Without hesitating, he tossed the transparent box back to Selena.
"That's definitely not the answer," he said.
Vincent glanced back, the corners of his lips quirking up.
"Selena, your brain is useful. You're like a walking book of knowledge," he said casually. "But, oddly enough, in battle, your brain always gets stuck."
Nolan saw Selena's face flush. The girl snorted softly, a mix of annoyance, embarrassment, and—though he wouldn't admit it—a little pride.
They continued walking deeper into the forest. The trees grew denser and the sunlight was cut off by the thick canopy, casting shadows across the ground. The air felt colder and heavier.
Then—
Nolan stopped.
Selena and Julian were no longer beside him.
The dense forest that had surrounded them vanished as if swallowed by darkness. His vision changed drastically.
He now stood in an unfamiliar place—a vast, dark space filled with specks of faint, shimmering purple light like those in a dead night sky. Beneath his feet stretched an endless, long bridge carved with a scaly, black dragon motif that crawled across its surface.
In front of him stood one figure.
Vincent stood with his back to him, his black coat fluttering slowly in the void.
The void stretched endlessly. A cold breeze rustled Nolan's white hair. In front of him, Vincent's black coat and wavy black hair moved slowly. The man glanced at Nolan with a sharp, piercing gaze.
"Who are you?"
Vincent's voice echoed in the void, coated with gripping mana pressure directed at Nolan. Nolan didn't fully understand the question, but his instincts told him it was dangerous. He jumped back two meters.
"Uncle Vincent, what are you asking? I don't understand at all," he said flatly.
"Don't lie!" Vincent snapped coldly, his purple eyes gleaming sharply.
A massive wave of mana crashed toward Nolan. Nolan jumped away, dodging the bone-crushing pressure, until he was nearly five meters away. Vincent remained at a distance, staring unblinkingly at Nolan.
Suddenly, Vincent trapped Nolan in a domain and launched an attack. Nolan immediately became wary. He couldn't forget that Vincent had slaughtered his family, had a deep enmity with Catherine, and was an enemy of the royal family of Ling.
Nolan wasn't foolish enough to assume that Vincent had completely accepted him without ulterior motives. It was possible that Vincent disliked him—or even his very existence. This was especially likely given his soul's transmigration from Earth to Caelthorn's body in the Earth Realm. Nolan wouldn't say anything.
Vincent, on the other hand, remained impassive. He simply waved his hand.
A dense, dark purple whirlwind of mana formed and struck Nolan.
Nolan stretched out his hand and created a golden-yellow shield. The shield blocked the rapidly spinning vortex of mana. The vibrations were palpable, and the shield's surface began to erode. Before the shield could shatter, Nolan leaped back.
He waved his hand and drew a sword from his storage bracelet. The blade was jet black with a thin white line along the edge.
[Eclipse Cleave]
Nolan swung his sword, which was enveloped in a dark mana aura. The aura extended along the blade's trajectory, and each slash formed a thin semicircular area. Eclipse Cleave was unleashed in rapid succession—slash after slash striking the dense, dark purple mana wave that swirled into a whirlwind.
The barrage of attacks finally tore the vortex apart, scattering it into fragments of mana that evaporated into the void of the domain.
But Nolan didn't let his guard down.
From the beginning, this situation had felt strange. Vincent had suddenly trapped him in the domain and attacked without warning. The question rang in his mind again: Who are you?
Nolan took a deep breath.
He had one thing on his mind: Vincent suspected him. The question wasn't just a provocation. It meant that Vincent had realized he wasn't Nolan Caelthorn. The man before him wasn't his nephew.
Yet Nolan himself hadn't fully grasped what was happening.
Memories of that dark abyss resurfaced. As his soul slipped away, black hands gripped him and pulled him down into a bottomless void. He should have drowned completely, but somehow, his consciousness had reawakened. When he opened his eyes, he realized that the body he was occupying was no longer his own.