CHAPTER 1347: SILVER GARGOYLE

Mona hid the amber crystal for a reason. She knew that most contenders would choose this crystal if they had the opportunity, and as a result, they would perish.

Sure, this didn’t stop Adam from choosing the amber crystal, but Mona did everything in her power to prevent this from happening.

In a way, she was concerned not only about a contender’s life, but also about her mistress getting a decent show. If a contender died at the very beginning of the trials, then what was the point?

But...

"He was a special case." Mona looked up as the elevator hurried back to the lower level after a bright amber flash. "My mistress warned me that he would want to take the greatest risk. She didn’t want him to die so soon, but... what choice did I have? I was obliged to follow the rules."

With a slight sigh, Mona shook her head and waved her hand.

Amidst the white nothingness, a gray portal opened, through which she passed and found herself in an unusual place far away from the Silver Beacon.

This place was the same one Adam had gone to, but Mona had no intention of undergoing the trials like Adam had.

Step. Step. Step.

Mona stepped forward, keeping her hands behind her back, staring intently at the figure in front of her.

A tall woman with perfectly smooth skin and platinum hair long enough to cover the floor slowly sipped her tea with a slight smile on her face.

Her eyes were crystal white, with rare black outlines that only added to their depth.

Unlike the emptiness that surrounded Mona and Adam earlier at the Silver Beacon, this was a building, or rather a huge glass sphere, inside which they found themselves.

Apart from the clean, silver floor and dark walls with tall pillars in the distance, there was nothing else here.

Taking a few more steps forward, Mona fell to one knee.

"Lady Bertrada, Adam Vinter should have already arrived at the White Spire," she said respectfully, addressing the Silver Beacon itself.

Bertrada smiled sweetly and slowly took another sip.

She waved her hand as a massive mirror opened out of the void, showing Adam appearing before the destroyed bridge with an amber flash.

Bertrada set her cup aside, enjoying Adam’s confused look.

"This young man... I’ve seen many arrogant monsters and humans, but he is so young. I won’t interfere with him, but his chances of reaching the top of the White Spire are too low to be true."

Mona’s eyes widened in disbelief.

"Mistress..." Her voice trembled. "Do you think he can survive?"

"Well, humans are unpredictable creatures. Moreover, even though the last decade before the World Wipe is always the calmest time, something remarkable can happen even now. Although... I’ll be honest with you, Mona. Most likely, he will perish here."

Mona gulped.

"Yes. Madam... Do you have any other orders for me?"

Bertrada paused briefly before pointing to the chair next to her.

"I want to treat you to some tea. You won’t refuse me that, will you?"

Mona smiled weakly as she rose from her knees. "No, of course not. I’m flattered."

Bertrada filled Mona’s cup as she sat down on the chair, and before turning her gaze to the mirror, she looked ahead, beyond the sphere.

High peaks appeared in the corners of her eyes, but soon only darkness remained. It was not darkness like in Adam’s inner space or simply in a dark room, no, Mona was looking at a black, gloomy sea, frightening and eerie, stretching so far that its end could not be seen.

Still, it was somewhere in the middle of this pernicious sea that they were, as well as Adam.

"By the way, since he chose the amber crystal, the difficulty level should be appropriate." Bertrada blinked and pointed her hand forward.

At the same moment, the massive crystal on the ceiling, which was the base of the sphere, shone brightly and emitted several silver flashes.

For a moment, Mona’s eyes reflected the silhouette of wings, just like the sign on the knight’s chest when his power increased significantly.

...

’Wait, wait, wait...!’ Adam exclaimed inwardly as he looked at the Silver Gargoyle, whose aura continued to grow.

However, Adam was able to breathe a sigh of relief when the monster’s aura stopped at the Black Threat Level, but it was not for long.

Whoooooooosh.

Three silver wing signs appeared on the Silver Gargoyle’s chest as its aura broke through the Black Threat Level and moved further into the Lords’ territory.

Silvana reacted faster than Adam. She understood what was happening here.

’Adam, most likely if you had chosen any other crystal, even a black one, the power of this gargoyle would have stopped at the Elder or High Elder level. However... now it’s at least a Baron or even someone stronger.’

They had encountered the Lords in their combat forms too rarely to understand their power levels based solely on their auras accurately. Moreover, the Silver Gargoyle’s power was not real, it was borrowed power, just as it had been with Bathild and the Knight of the White Spire earlier.

Sure, Adam had defeated them both, but he couldn’t deny that it was because the external power they had received was not great enough to deprive him of all chance.

However... Adam was hardly capable of scratching a Lord, even if all of that Lord’s power was temporary and borrowed. That would be enough to kill him, and that was the only thing that mattered.

"So by choosing the amber crystal, I’ve doomed myself to battle against a Lord or even several? But... how am I supposed to pass the trials and obtain the Desire of Beyond?!" Adam frowned, clenching his fists tightly.

’Don’t panic. First, we need to figure out how to open the door at the base of the spire. Judging by everything, the key to the door is a fang. Maybe this fang is lying somewhere, or maybe we need to pull it out of a gargoyle. There are hundreds of them here.’

Before Silvana could explain her plan, the Silver Gargoyle grinned widely, causing Adam’s eyes to widen.

One of its fangs stood out from everything bright and light around — it was as dark as the night itself and was large enough to fit perfectly into the seal at the gates.