CHAPTER 168: FLIPPING THE TABLE

"...I don't know why the magic ended up targeting you, a useless fool with so little void energy that I can barely sense it. But it doesn't matter. These keys recognize each other. You must be in possession of one of the keys—now, obey me and come over here!"

The elder quickly recovered from his brief shock. He had assumed the key was with Avia, but to his surprise, Wang Yu seemed to possess it instead. Whoever had it didn't matter to him—he only cared about the key itself.

Wang Yu raised his middle finger at the elder, though he wasn't sure if the guy even understood the gesture.

Faced with the irresistible pull coming from the key—something he had no power to resist—Wang Yu showed no trace of fear. He wasn't afraid of death. If he was so weak as to be completely overpowered against this elderly man known as Yule, as Samuel had called him, then why not just go with the flow?

"Kid, don't give up yet. Your companion is still trying to open a spatial gate to save you. I have a little time left before I fade completely. I'll do my best to help you.

"Roland was eccentric, but I'm sure he didn't leave behind these keys in an attempt to help someone steal what he left behind. At the very least, he would give you a chance to take control of your own fate."

Samuel's voice reached Wang Yu's ears. His body seemed to be in the process of virtualization; it grew more and more transparent as it resonated with the void.

"Don't worry. I intend to find a way to survive until my last breath."

The pull from the elder's wizardry was irresistible, but it didn't restrict Wang Yu's ability to react. He turned and gave Samuel an "OK" sign before facing Yule once more. Despite the threat of death looming over his head, Wang Yu seemed cool and collected.

"Heh. You're more interesting than I expected. If I do manage to save you, that might be worthwhile, after all."

Samuel chuckled at Wang Yu's carefree attitude. Yule preferred his targets to be mired in deep, soul-wrenching terror—Samuel wondered what that old bastard would think about Wang Yu.

"Soon, you'll face something even more terrifying than death. I wonder if you'll still be able to maintain that composure. Samuel is right—Roland won't completely cut off your path. We're about to play a game, or rather, a trial.

"If you win, you'll obtain what Roland left behind: the ultimate secret of the void. I'll even give you a sliver of hope. But in the end, all that will await you is absolute despair. I wonder what expression you'll make then."

Chains extended from the keys, linking everyone together—the twelve skulls, Wang Yu, and even the elder. He seemed to have used some kind of soul-based wizardry to bind his own soul to one of the skulls, making himself count as a keyholder and thus subjecting him to the chains' restrictions.

He grinned eerily at Wang Yu as he announced his intentions. But for some reason, he didn't attempt to crush Wang Yu outright. It seemed that these chains not only dragged the keyholders toward their destination but also acted as a form of protection, shielding them from external interference.

"Screw off!"

Wang Yu gave the elder a thumbs down.

The keys were chained together into a circular ring. At the center of that ring was the Dark Ritual codex, which had been pulled out of Samuel's body.

Void energy began to ripple across its surface. It was a stable rift, completely different from any void fissure that Wang Yu had ever seen. The rift connected to the material world using the pages of the codex as a medium.

Just as Samuel had described, this was a liminal rift that straddled the void and the material world. Under the influence of the thirteen keys, it had now been fully unlocked. It was a portal leading to some unknown point within the void.

Wang Yu stared at this gateway to the void that nevertheless remained utterly stable. Not even a single wisp of aura leaked from its starry depths. The construct itself was testament to Roland's power.

A stable, bidirectional portal into the void like this was impossible to create in the current age. Conventional wisdom claimed that such a portal couldn't exist—but clearly, both the Nightblades and the Stevenson Academy of Magic were wrong.

"That's insane..." Wang Yu muttered.

"So this is the power Roland left behind... I shall be the master of this power! I will become you, Roland!"

The elder's voice was filled with manic fervor as he gazed at the gateway. He could already picture himself passing the trial and obtaining the prize he had been seeking his entire life.

"Kid, hold on as long as you can."

Samuel's voice reached Wang Yu one last time. He too was shocked by the gateway that had formed from the Dark Ritual codex. He had once told Fang Stuart that the codex was a portal connecting the void and the material world, yet he had never been able to prove it. His lifetime of research hadn't borne fruit, but at the eve of his material existence, it had finally revealed its true form.

Space continued to vibrate and fluctuate. The magical signature was familiar to him. It was the kid's companion, Avia, who still hadn't given up—commendable tenacity, and a strong bond. Would she be able to save him?

It was out of the question for Wang Yu to defeat Yule. Despite his mania, despite his fervor, Yule was second only to Roland in his command of the void.

As Samuel's words faded, Wang Yu turned and gave the librarian a final thumbs-up before the ring of keys yanked him, the twelve skulls, and the elderly man into the void portal.

Silently, the portal winked shut. The codex's pages fluttered as it floated silently in Samuel's library. Wang Yu and the others seemed to have vanished entirely from the material world.

"What the hell is this place? The void? Why can't I feel any void energy...?"

Wang Yu scratched his head, utterly confused. The restraints on his body had vanished, but he had no idea where he was. There was solid ground beneath him, yet he couldn't see what it was made of.

He looked around. There was a river of stars as far as the eye could see, boundless, stretched across the sky like the celestial expanse of his mindscape. Chaotic presences roamed freely. Distorted echoes reverberated through this world. This was the void.

He clenched his fist, hearing his bones pop. There was no issue. His body was intact, and he was still whole. Wherever they were, it was made of matter.

"Did Roland create a material domain within the void, just like how void fissures can create pockets of the void in the material world? That's... unimaginable."

Such a thing had never been recorded in history. It was a wild hypothesis beyond anyone's imagination—and yet Wang Yu could think of no other explanation. If anyone could do it, it would have been Roland...

As he pondered, he spotted something in the distance. It was getting larger in his vision. With no reference point, he couldn't tell whether he was moving toward it or it toward him.

It was a stone structure, square and simple, like a matchbox with a large, tightly shut door.

"Is this where Yule's prize is? Hmm... those stone patterns look familiar."

Wang Yu narrowed his eyes as recognition dawned.

He shut his eyes and entered his mindscape, gazing upon the endless lake that represented his void energy. Dipping his head into the crystal-clear water, he traced the lakebed with his fingers. Its stone texture was identical to that of the building before him.

The foundation of his mindscape was the same as Roland's creation. Was this the identity of the key that lay within him?

He swept his gaze around. The Tree of the Night was nowhere to be seen, nor the Lady of the Night. It seemed as if Roland's domain was inaccessible to all existences save the keyholders.

Deep in thought, Wang Yu slowly pieced the puzzle together. If this truly were the key, when had he acquired it? It had been present from the very beginning, when he first unlocked his wizardry...

No, no—he had done something before that.

"The key amplifies a wizard's talent."

"Avia was suspected to be a keyholder."

"The key chooses those with exceptional talent for wizardry."

The clues that Wang Yu had collected slowly surfaced in his mind, connecting the events that had transpired together. Indeed, before he awakened to wizardry and saw the lake that he believed to be his mindscape, there was something else, something crucial, that had happened.

Back when he fought his way out of the bandit stronghold, Avia had used her latent ability to heal his wounds, but she herself had fallen unconscious. Some purple light had appeared on her body. Curious, Wang Yu had touched those lights, and they had darted into his body. However, due to his unique nature, they had remained dormant since.

Because of his immunity to void influence, he had subconsciously dismissed that strange occurrence at the time. Now that he was reviewing his memories, the events that had unfolded seemed far more suspicious.

"Was it then...? The key is supposed to amplify the wielder's talent. But my void talent is still so weak. So—is there a possibility that I never had wizardry talent to begin with? That even my minuscule talent comes solely from this key?"

Absurd as this hypothesis was, it made a disturbing amount of sense. Wang Yu had already been puzzled about his lack of a "soul"—how could someone like him possess talent for wizardry? And, in fact, he might not have had such talent at all.

The key had boosted his abysmal talent for wizardry to the best of its ability, leaving him with... slightly-better-than abysmal talent.

Wang Yu shook his head. He hadn't expected this at all. By some twist of fate, he had ended up taking the key that should have belonged to Avia.

Outside his mindscape, his body sensed a change. Wang Yu withdrew from his mindscape and saw that the square brick structure in the distance had stopped closing in on him.

Meanwhile, figures in the surrounding space were slowly approaching—intact skeletal soldiers advancing toward Wang Yu from various directions. Among them was the elderly man.

"We meet again. Quite the spectacle, isn't it? Everything Roland left behind—in a domain within the void that contains no void energy, a material bubble. Don't you think that's beyond what even a god can accomplish?

"Aren't you excited? Don't you wonder what's inside the structure Roland left behind? That is the ultimate secret of the void! Do you know what obtaining it would mean? And now, that opportunity is right in front of you."

The elder smiled at Wang Yu, seemingly in high spirits. Even his usual cold tone and demeanor had vanished.

"Thirteen steps form the path to the ultimate secret of the void. The legend is real. Look! These thirteen keys will lead to the treasury."

As the elder spoke, Wang Yu noticed a change in the surrounding space. The skeletal soldiers, the elder, and Wang Yu himself were all aligned in a row. Beneath their feet, something was rising.

Stone platforms ascended from underfoot, their surfaces composed of interlocking bricks. He recognized the patterns on these bricks—they were identical to those in Roland's treasury, and to those that formed the foundation of the key in his mindscape.

"These keys are going to combine. They are a crucial safeguard that protects us from the void corruption. Do you understand? Even I wouldn't dare enter the void directly. Its innate chaos will twist and destroy anything that belongs to the material world.

"But Roland found a way past it. This staircase of thirteen keys shields us, preventing our annihilation to the void. This is how we'll enter his treasury."

The elder spread his arms, excitement on his face as he pointed toward the distant "treasury." As he spoke, the rising stone platforms reached their feet—thirteen keys, thirteen stone surfaces, assembling into a path leading toward the edifice.

"What a marvelous structure! The thirteen keys balance each other perfectly—remove even one, and the entire thing collapses, sending everyone plummeting into the void. A flawless security measure. Without all thirteen keys, no one can reach the place where Roland left the ultimate secret of the void.

"And now, the final trial—or rather, the game. The thirteen keyholders shall determine who among them will earn the final prize. This is your chance. You can try to defeat me in this game."

The elder looked at Wang Yu with manic eyes, eager for the moment when his hope was crushed, obliterated, and replaced with despair.

Wang Yu pointed the Fury of the Forge at the elder and pulled the trigger—but the alchemical revolver didn't fire. Wang Yu glanced at his unresponsive weapon, clicked his tongue, and holstered it.

Under the elder's gaze, he then pulled out the Spellweaver's Tome and attempted to activate a spell formation—but just like the Fury of the Forge, the tome produced no magical reaction.

"Ha! What are you doing? This space prevents keyholders from attacking each other. Why do you think I haven't just wiped you out?

"Do you really think you can attack me with that little toy of yours? You really are just as amusing as Samuel said. Hahaha!"

The elder laughed heartily. Wang Yu's futile attempt to ignore the space's unique properties was downright entertaining. Just a while ago, Wang Yu had nearly blown his head off with a single shot. He was now trying the same method again—and of course, he failed. The elder couldn't help but laugh at his absurdity.

"Then let's see if this ‘material space' can stop me from bashing in the skull of an old bastard who can't even use wizardry."

Standing at the edge of his stone platform, Wang Yu attempted to step onto another keyholder's platform, only to be blocked by an invisible force. Clicking his tongue, he gave up on crossing over.

Wang Yu's logic was simple: since this was a material domain created by Roland within the void world, one devoid of void energy, then the elder should be unable to use wizardry.

That meant, theoretically, that he could just shoot him or crush his head with sheer physical strength. Unfortunately, Roland's trial grounds wouldn't allow that sort of behavior.

"You... I will make you wish for death. Enjoy your last moments of free will. You can imagine yourself winning this game, if you like—your final delusion. Because once I obtain Roland's prize, you will belong to me in full."

The elder's face darkened instantly. Wang Yu's response made him realize that, if not for the trial's rules, he might well have been in danger.

Fury surged in his heart. When this was over, he would make sure Wang Yu experienced endless despair and agony.

"The game begins..."

With those words, the space transformed. Thirteen books appeared before each keyholder—including the skeletal soldiers, who had each received one as well.

It seemed Roland's domain had released these bound spirits from their shackles, restoring them so that they could participate in the trial themselves.

A mental voice echoed in the minds of all present: "Learn the wizardry from the book. This is the first trial. Failure means elimination."

The elder opened his book. Inside were over a hundred pages of wizardry structures. He smirked—this was no challenge to him. None of the others could possibly surpass him. Without hesitation, he began.

As for Wang Yu, he did nothing. He didn't open the book. He didn't follow the instructions. He didn't participate.

A game? What a joke. He had no interest, no curiosity about what lay inside Roland's treasury, or what power it might grant. What he was going to do was upend the game board. The keys, Roland, Yule, the treasure—screw them all.

His consciousness sank into his mindscape. Standing before the foundation of keys beneath the lake, Wang Yu raised his fist.

A staircase formed of thirteen keys, was it?

His fist crashed down.

The impact struck the stone foundation he had always believed to be part of his mindscape.

And in that instant where his fist met the ground—the foundation shattered, exploded, collapsed completely. Wang Yu's fist destroyed it all.