But for Diras, this set of Essence Relics was no less useful than a Mythic Artifact.
And as for the substitute magical artifact avatar, it only weakens the power of the artifact itself. You might as well use it as an ordinary staff.
As for alternative cultivation methods for magical artifact avatars, well, that theory won’t even be proposed by a mage for another eight thousand years...
Leon couldn’t be bothered with Diras. Getting a piece of junk and still showing off about it—what’s there to brag about? It’s just an ordinary Essence Relic staff...
Leon didn’t step forward, so Diras grew impatient. After pressing his personal magical insignia, the golden liquid shot up to over seven meters high.
"My god, over seven meters! Is Archmage Diras about to receive a Mythic Artifact?"
He didn’t get a Mythic Artifact, but Diras was more than satisfied with this Essence Relic set. After stepping back, he started fusing with the relics using his magic.
In the end, only Leon hadn’t collected his reward yet. Diras snickered and egged him on.
Instantly, everyone fell silent, watching the glowing wall, waiting for Diras’s reward to appear.
Maybe you’ll get a level-30 magic crystal. Oh wait, maybe a level-31 Soul Mana Crystal instead."
Three burning fireballs appeared: one blazing with crimson flames, one with black, and one with green.
Seeing these three fireballs, Diras’s eyes lit up. He controlled them with magic, and each brought a different sensation.
The three fist-sized fireballs floated around Diras. They didn’t look special, but everyone saw the smile on his face.
A hint of surprise flashed in Leon’s eyes. He’d already guessed Diras wouldn’t get a Mythic Artifact, but hadn’t expected him to receive a set of Essence Relics.
The difficulty of the Path of the Heroic Spirits depended on one’s choices—the more orc spirits defeated at once, the better the result.
Individually, those orc spirits weren’t much of a threat. But with each one added, the challenge ramped up exponentially.
Eighteen orc spirits together were at least a hundred times stronger than a single one!
Diras cleared the Path of the Heroic Spirits in just an hour, but he still beat the orc spirits one by one.
With this method, even if you defeat each spirit in a single blow and finish in minutes, you still might not get a Mythic Artifact.
If that’s enough to earn a Mythic Artifact, then defeating all eighteen orc spirits at once... the reward would be unimaginable.
But for Dida La, this set of Essence Relics was no less useful than a Mythic Artifact.
These three fireballs must be the flame artifact set once wielded by that madman known as the Blood Mage at the end of the Third Dynasty.
Elemental Fire, Flame of Destruction, Soul-Devouring Poison Flame.
Each Essence Relic could summon a different type of flame—the stronger you are, the fiercer the fire you summon.
Legend has it, Elemental Fire could summon flames that had undergone three evolutions, hot enough to burn through the earth itself.
Flame of Destruction could annihilate everything—even ashes would be turned to nothing. Soul-Devouring Poison Flame was so toxic that even the undead couldn’t resist, as it could infect and burn their bodies to ash.
He didn’t get a Mythic Artifact, but Dida La was more than satisfied with this Essence Relic set. After stepping back, he started fusing with the relics using his magic.
In the end, only Leon hadn’t collected his reward yet. Dirathis snickered and egged him on.
"Leon Merlin, why aren’t you going? You’re the last one. Don’t worry, you’ll get something, even if your score is so pathetic I can’t bear to say it out loud.
Maybe you’ll get a level-30 magic crystal. Oh wait, maybe a level-31 soul magic crystal instead."
A level-31 soul magic crystal, you know!"
With that, Dirathis pulled Morgan aside.
"Morgan, don’t you think a level-31 soul magic crystal is a rare treasure too? We can’t just waste it, right...?"
Morgan gave a couple of awkward laughs, shot Leon a sheepish glance, and said nothing. Leon’s completion time was honestly embarrassing...
Leon ignored Dirathis’s sarcastic remarks, calmly walked up to the wall, and pondered what he might receive. Everyone else had gotten something useful—so what would suit him?
He pressed his hand to his exclusive magical seal, and instantly, the golden liquid in the translucent pillar went berserk.
The golden liquid, which had been level with the horizon, suddenly exploded upward—shooting past ten meters, then straight to eighteen.
The pillar was only eighteen meters tall. In less than a second, the golden liquid hit the top—but even then, it kept churning, as if it wanted to break through, but just couldn’t.
After a few seconds, the pillar embedded in the wall began to tremble, as if it might explode...
Everyone in the back saw this and was instantly dumbfounded...
Dirathis still had a mocking smile frozen on his face, but now it looked stiff. He stared blankly at the pillar overflowing with golden liquid, mouth slightly open, utterly speechless...
It actually reached the top—what’s going on? Wasn’t Leon Merlin the last to finish the Path of the Heroic Spirits?
Isn’t the score supposed to be based on how fast you clear it?
Did the pillar break? Why did Leon Merlin—the slowest one, who took four or five hours and nearly died—end up with such a high score?
An eighteen-meter-tall pillar, and it hit the top instantly. Maybe the golden pillar isn’t determined by speed after all?
Impossible, absolutely impossible! The height of the golden liquid matches your completion speed—Dida La’s was the highest, those bumpkins from Andalusia had the lowest.
The higher the golden liquid, the better the reward. So why is this happening...?
Damn it, is this ever going to end? That damned golden liquid still hasn’t settled. Did Leon Merlin, who nearly died on the Path of the Heroic Spirits, actually get a score that exceeds the pillar’s limit?
Dirathis stared wide-eyed, as if he’d seen a god or demon.
Normally, the golden liquid shoots up to each person’s height in a second or two, then quickly settles. Once it’s stable, the reward appears.
But now, the pillar completely filled with golden liquid was trembling, the liquid inside churning wildly with no sign of calming down. Anyone could see it wanted to surge higher, but had hit its absolute limit...
Dida La couldn’t even focus on fusing with his new Essence Relics, just stared in a daze at the pillar turned entirely gold...
On the Odin Kingdom side, jaws dropped all around—everyone wore faces of shock and disbelief...
On the Andalusia side, Joey and Helen exchanged glances, but neither seemed surprised—in fact, both looked relieved.
Damn, Archmage Merlin is just too astonishing. I knew things wouldn’t be that simple—he must’ve uncovered some hidden secret.
Otherwise, with Archmage Merlin’s strength, how could it have taken him so long to clear the Path of the Heroic Spirits—and get so badly injured?
This is wild—the pillar might actually explode, right?
The golden liquid still wants to surge upward. What did Archmage Merlin do to cause this...?
Everyone was completely baffled, unable to figure out why this was happening. Watching the trembling pillar, they all worried it might explode...
Shuban crossed his arms, let out a cold chuckle, and looked smugly at Dirathis.
"Idiot, Lord Merlin isn’t that simple. I told you, his strength is definitely the greatest—there’s no way he’s the weakest. Whatever Lord Merlin faced on that path was definitely different from ours.
If Lord Merlin was injured that badly, the orcs he fought must’ve been way stronger than ours. Now the golden liquid in the pillar proves it.
Dirathis’s face was dark, ignoring Shuban’s smug taunts.
On the wall, the pillar full of golden liquid finally stopped trembling, but runes began to appear on the translucent surface.
Starting from the bottom, rune after rune appeared—thirteen in total. Only then did the churning golden liquid finally settle.
Suddenly, the massive wall burst into light. Every intricate pattern lit up, and a glowing sphere over three meters wide condensed, slowly floating in front of Leon.
As the light faded from the sphere, thirteen stone tablets—each about the size of a book—were revealed. All were dark gray, with no magical aura or special presence, looking like the rough work of a novice stonemason.
The tablets looked like ordinary gray stones, roughly cut with visible jagged edges. The only thing that set them apart was a simple rune carved into each one.
The runes seemed basic, but nobody could decipher their meaning.
At first, seeing the three-meter-wide glowing sphere, everyone thought Leon had gotten a Mythic Artifact. But when it revealed thirteen seemingly ordinary stone tablets, they were stunned.
Dida La frowned at the thirteen stone tablets floating in midair, eyes full of confusion. He had no idea what they were.
Everyone else was just as baffled.
Everything others received—magical books, rare materials, artifacts—always had a trace of magical energy. Even if not, they’d have some unique aura: strange, powerful, or tinged with the laws of magic.
But these thirteen tablets had nothing—no magical energy, no aura, not even the slightest sense of power. They were just thirteen ordinary gray stones.
Though everyone was confused, no one spoke up to ask.
Dirathis was just as puzzled, but still couldn’t resist mocking aloud.
"If you ask me, this thing must be broken. Or maybe the faster you clear the Path of the Heroic Spirits, the better the reward.
The system probably didn’t know how to judge this, couldn’t figure out what to give as a reward. That’s why the golden liquid wouldn’t settle down.
No one’s ever taken that long to clear the Path before. Not even a magic crystal would be enough, so they just cobbled together thirteen pieces of junk..."
Despite his words, Dirathis’s eyes gleamed, fixed on those thirteen stone tablets.