CHAPTER 1351: PART OF THE SEAL

The Silver Gargoyle had lost and wanted to take revenge on Adam, but now that was impossible. The monster’s original power wasn’t particularly great. So, now, without the silver wing signs, the Silver Gargoyle had no chance of defeating Adam.

They exchanged glances as their changing auras confirmed the new reality.

Now, the Silver Gargoyle was no stronger than a normal Lesser Elder, so it would be no trouble for Adam to defeat such an opponent.

The Silver Gargoyle frowned but eventually flapped its wings and disappeared into the void. It was not supposed to die at the trial, unlike Adam, for whom such an outcome was entirely possible.

"Adam, the gates, they are calling us." Silvana’s voice rang out in Adam’s head.

He nodded deeply, looking at the dagger.

"Yeah, I see. However, I don’t think we should rush." He looked up at the multitude of floating islands. "I wonder, if I had chosen a different crystal at the very beginning and was able to defeat this gargoyle on my own, would this dagger be here?"

None of them had an answer to that question, but they could make their own assumptions. Silvana’s theory had worked, so it might be right again.

’Probably not. I could be wrong, but from what I can tell, even though the Silver Beacon brought us here, it doesn’t have absolute power over this place. It has great power over the trials, the contenders, the subordinates, and so on, but it must follow its own rules for some reason.’

Adam nodded deeply and moved forward, stepping from one rock to another that lined up in a straight line for him to reach the White Spire.

Deep down, Adam had a desire to take the time to destroy every island and make sure he hadn’t missed anything important, but he knew there was no point in doing so.

’I’ve done everything I can here, right? So, now it’s time to move on.’

Tap.

He inserted the dark fang into the gate socket, expecting the gate to open. However, instead, the socket shook and turned to the right like a keyhole.

Then, a gap opened under the socket, which was the same width as the dagger in Adam’s hand.

Adam smirked as he glanced at the dagger.

"Damn, I thought they would let me keep it for the next trial, but it seems the answer was obvious from the start. This weapon is too powerful to give me more than one trial, right?"

With a short sigh, Adam inserted the dagger into the gap.

To his surprise, the dagger went in completely, and even the hilt disappeared into the gate.

Crack.

The socket turned again as the gap glowed brightly with an unusual purple light, emitting dense clumps of darkness.

The gap disappeared as a black, stone fragment appeared in its place, floating in front of Adam.

"Hm? What is this?" Adam frowned, gently touching the fragment.

With difficulty, he noticed some lines carved into the fragment, vaguely resembling either a claw or the fang of some beast. However, the lines were too indistinct and incomplete to form a complete picture.

After a few moments, Adam nodded deeply, running his finger along the edges of the fragment.

"I see. It’s only a part. And returning to the original question..." He glanced at the place where the dagger had disappeared. "Would I have received this fragment if I had chosen a different crystal?"

Adam understood that if he wanted to obtain the Desire of Beyond, he had to use every opportunity and take every risk for the best rewards.

Click.

A soft click sounded from the gate as the socket turned for the last time.

At the same moment, the gate opened, casting a dazzling light on Adam.

He didn’t know what to expect behind the gate, as it was the beginning of the ascent to the top of the White Spire.

"Agh...?" Adam’s eyes widened. "What are you doing here?"

He stared at Mona as if he had seen a ghost.

"What do you mean? Have you forgotten? I work here, and I’m used to doing my job well," she replied calmly, keeping her hands behind her back.

Adam scratched the back of his head and glanced over his shoulder at the battlefield and the destroyed bridge. Many rocks and islands were still covered with the blood of the many gargoyles he had cut down.

"You were here the whole time watching me fight?"

Strangely enough, Mona shook her head.

"No, I came here when you got the black fang. But, I did watch your fight from another place, that’s true."

She paused briefly, looking at him with slight disbelief.

"Honestly, considering you chose the amber crystal, you should be dead by now. I’m surprised you were able to find the dagger and survive long enough for the gargoyle not to kill you. I’m impressed."

Her praise was rather strange and cold, but Adam was still pleased to hear it. He understood that this was just Mona’s style.

"What now? The next trial?" Adam asked.

Mona nodded deeply and pointed to the platform.

"Sure. If you want, you can take some time to rest. I’m sure you’ve expended quite a bit of energy."

"Nah, I’m fine." Adam shrugged and stood next to Mona. "The energy in this place is surprisingly dense. I didn’t notice it before because I was in battle right after I appeared, but it’s even easier to breathe here."

"Of course, this is the White Spire. In that case, we can move on, right?"

Adam nodded deeply and looked up.

"Yes, onward to the very top!"

Mona stepped forward and touched a hidden button in the wall.

"Next stop — the second trial."

At the same moment, the platform started moving, heading downwards and leaving Adam with a puzzled expression.

"WHAT?!" He shouted. "Why are we going down? I thought we were going up!"

With a calm expression, Mona just glanced at him once and shrugged.

"Well, obviously, you were wrong. I never said we would go up, not down."

Her gaze deepened.

"Get ready, you could die on every trial, don’t forget that."