Hero of Darkness

Kahn recovered after the final strike and summoned his clothes as well as the space ring back again as he royally passed the 2nd part of the trial like a boss. 

Even Vildred couldn't link this method to him using the Space Force to survive and resurrect himself again and again. 

Because Dimensional Shift didn't exude a single trace of space force to the outside world when he shifted his body parts or organs to the true dimension and the instant regeneration skill in itself was a big distraction as it made an extremely quick recovery of the entire physique in matter of minutes. 

[Divine Ability! He definitely has some sort of resurrection related divine ability. 

Means I couldn't kill him in the first place.] thought Vildred, oblivious to the fact that all he needed to do was seal the space around this floor to kill Kahn. 

Aragorn on the other end had a visibly irritated expression. 

"You sure have some tricks, Ragnarsson. 

But fret not, it won't make any difference." he spoke haughtily. But unlike pretentious upstuck morons, his confidence was warranted. 

Clearly, he already knew what was going to be the 3rd and final part of the trial and prepared for it beforehand. 

"Vildred, let's start it." he spoke. 

The Dragon Emperor then nodded and soon, he started chanting something in the previously spoken unknown language. 

Swoom! 

Swoom! 

Soon, hundreds of round ancient archaic formations, each one being 5 meters in height, having elven runes and patterns running across them came into sight and parted into two sides. 

Kahn and Aragorn had a long queue of magical formations, identical to each other and floating in front of them with their respective positions a few kilometers away. 

Two hundred of them glowed brightly in front of him and the elven prince. 

"This… is the trial of Wisdom." declared the dragon emperor. 

"The one to find the flaws and fix these formations in the successive order would win the trial and also invoke the Commandment of Fellowship." he spoke, his voice sounding dejected and indignant. 

However… Kahn was stupefied after hearing the format of this trial. 

" What nonsense is this?! 

Isn't this trial basically saying only Mages and Enchanters, who have knowledge of magic formations and runes will win the trial?

How is this even a fair trial?!" clamored Kahn, his voice filled with aggravation. 

"Hey, I didn't set the terms of the trial. 

I'm the victim and the prisoner of this trial here, remember?" rebuked Vildred. 

Alas, Kahn was simply exasperated and did not hide the knot of disdain in his brows. 

Why? 

Because he was still an Intermediate Magician with limited knowledge of magic formations. 

Although one of his doppelgangers was studying magic and had Solomon's books to study from… the fact always remained that Kahn had no teacher or an experienced mentor when it came to magic. 

Thus, his rank was still stagnant even after 2 years ever since he started studying magic. 

Even the blessings from the war deity such as Weapon Mastery and Combat Techniques Mastery could only help him progress and perfect his skills to a degree. The progression in the rank would come only after receiving enlightenment that came naturally. 

And to understand and decipher these formations made in ancient elven runes… he would need to be at least a Saint Rank mage and need deep study and access to books in this field regarding archaic formation magic. 

Hence, Kahn was in a completely disadvantageous situation. 

Shing! 

Shing! 

But while he was lost in thoughts… 

Aragorn confidently started on his side and quickly deciphered the first 2 layers of formations, fixing them using his mana and world energy within just 10 seconds. 

[Fuck! We're as good as dead!] cursed Kahn with a hateful countenance. 

Just then, a voice resounded in his mind. 

[Master… let me guide you.] 

----------------

At this moment, the one to speak in Kahn's mind was none other than Ceril, their magic expert among his generals. 

So far in Zivot Empire since they started the Misthios mercenary guild, Ceril was mostly busy working for high-end jobs and didn't get enough resources to experiment his Necromancy skills on various subjects as he was always surrounded by people working under him. 

However, he didn't spend his time sitting idly and spent most of his free time studying the elven magic that was practiced particularly in this empire. 

He often practiced high-tier and Saint Rank spells, studied magic formations, enchanting skills and even learned many old and terrifying spells, all on his own. 

Although he didn't have access to ancient elven grimoires since they were well-guarded secrets of the High Elves, his attainment was still incredible compared to Kahn. 

And now that the situation arose… he decided to help Kahn through their innate mental connection. 

[How confident are you?] asked Kahn. 

[I will be able to guide you to complete at least 159 of them. 

The rest are beyond my current capabilities.] spoke Ceril truthfully. 

"Dammit! This is going wrong in every possible way." spoke Kahn loudly. 

Hearing his words from afar, even Aragorn couldn't help but chuckle. 

However, after contemplating for a few minutes… Kahn started the trial on his own accord for some reason. 

With Ceril's guidelines, he was also slowly finding the flaws in magic formations that floated in front of him and using his world energy, he was completing them in succession. 

But unlike him… Aragorn was just too fast and incredibly quick to fix them. 

Meanwhile, Vildred had an incredulous expression. 

Because in the end, whether it was Kahn or Aragorn… he would be bound to either of them. 

Kahn was a chosen Hero of God, the kind he deeply hated; while Aragorn was a High Elf, a blood descendant of the very person who partook in the ambush and sealed him here for a thousand years, someone he had long rivalry towards. 

For Kahn, it meant survival. 

For Aragorn… controlling Vildred was a desperate measure he needed for his own unknown reasons which none had any hint of even now. 

But for Vildred… it was like someone putting a leash on his neck like a slave. 

The fate he would not accept as a prideful member of the Dragon species. 

A Royal Dragon like him would rather choose death than be turned into someone's servant who mindlessly followed orders. 

[Should I… destroy my core and die?] he wondered himself. 

In the passing few minutes, Vildred resolved to kill himself as this seemed to be the old way out. 

2 Hours Later. 

With the passage of time, Aragorn just completed the 195th formation while Kahn could only do the 150th. The difference between their knowledge and skill was clearly speaking for itself. 

As the order of formations increased, the complexity of the formation, their flaws and patterns also arose by manyfolds. Thus it took longer for both sides. 

If not for Ceril guiding Kahn, he wouldn't have managed to even clear the first 20 formations.

However, unlike Kahn… Aragorn was deeply entranced and highly focused as it was a critical situation for him. 

At this moment, Aragorn was in a state where he couldn't afford to make the slightest mistake, otherwise the formation would be destroyed and it would blow up to the point that even he, a 5th stage saint, could be gravely injured from the backlash. 

Although he had the advantage, he still didn't want to take any risks or be ignorant. 

For him… it was a matter of his life and death if he failed to win the trial. 

----------------

10 Minutes Later. 

Aragorn finally finished the formation and was fixated on the next one, having the victory within his reach. 

And Kahn on the other end, was still stuck on the one he was solving. 

Yet the very next moment… 

Kahn let go of his own formation and the formation before him dispersed into thin air. 

Kahn… lost the trial. 

[Yes! Now I have only 4 more to go and I will win the trial without a doubt!] thought Aragorn with a victorious feeling emanating from his body. 

HUM! 

"Nevaldka Sor Buia Hdali Jivskal!" 

Vildred suddenly spoke loudly. 

"Nevaldka Sor Buia Hdali Jivskal!" 

And this time, it was Kahn who repeated the same words. 

Soon, Vildred started chanting words in his ancient Draconian dialect and Kahn kept repeating those exact words after him. 

[What's happening? What are they doing?] thought Aragorn with an alarmed expression, his focus almost dwindling and he nearly lost control over the formation. 

However, he couldn't afford to take a step back or the consequences would be dire for him because of the backlash. 

Hum! 

Hum! 

Humming sounds echoed in the surroundings and a wisp of Kahn's soul that had a sky blue hue around it emerged from his heart aka the core while a bright and dark blue wisp, many times bigger than Kahn's suddenly came out of Vildred's chest. 

These two wisps instantly shot towards each other and quickly started mixing together. 

And right when Aragorn was done finishing the last formation and officially winning the trial… 

Bang! 

The bloodline token in his hand was destroyed, turning into dust. 

Clang! 

Clatter! 

Crumble! 

The thousands of ancient and unbreakable chains that tied the dragon emperor suddenly became visible again and started corroding and crumbling from the inside. 

Crack! 

Shatter! 

And right before Aragorn could even get a grasp of the happenings… 

Vildred roared and declared in an elated and tyrannical voice. 

"Finally… I'm free!!"