Earth's Greatest Magus

The tension in the cave was palpable. Horus’s intentions were crystal clear—he was ready to fight for his share. Ivaris, still simmering with frustration over the Kreed noble’s arrogance, met his challenge head-on. Their assistants stood on an edge, awaiting the slightest command to strike.

But while the heated exchange unfolded, Kaelyn remained unfazed. With a casual motion, she reached into her Skyroot magic pouch and retrieved one of the seven-colored petals of the Rainbow Flower. This simple action caused Horus to visibly stiffen, yet he found no words to challenge her decision. Instead, he shifted tactics.

“I shall take one of them,” Horus announced, his voice laced with entitlement. “And the last one… you two can share it between yourselves.” His finger flicked between Ivaris and Emery.

Ivaris barely spared Horus a glance before scoffing. “No damn way! If it wasn’t for him, we’d all be corpses rotting in that cave. he is also the one who retrieved the flower successfully.”

Horus smirked, relishing the conflict he had sparked. “Then why don’t you just give him your share? Problem solved.”

That was the last straw. Ivaris’s temper flared, and he took a menacing step forward. “You damn prick—”

But before the situation could escalate, Emery, who had been silently stabilizing the energy he had absorbed, finally opened his eyes. His breath steadied, his mind cleared, and he spoke with calm authority.

“I am willing to part with my share of the flower.”

Silence fell instantly. Both nobles turned to him, momentarily stunned. Then, Horus’s lips curled into a smug grin. “I see you understand your situation well.”

Emery, however, was not finished. “But in exchange, I want a Tier-7 material from each of you.”

The smirk faded slightly.

His words instantly changed the atmosphere. Both Horus and Ivaris, who had been poised to clash, turned to him with a mix of curiosity and skepticism. Such a proposal was unexpected. A Tier-8 material was rarer and much more valuable than a Tier-7, yet Emery was offering to trade it away.

“Do we have a deal?” Emery asked, his expression unreadable.

Horus hesitated, clearly contemplating whether there was a trick to this. The idea of relinquishing one of his hard-earned materials irked him, but he wasn’t foolish enough to turn down an opportunity to claim a superior-grade ingredient. With a reluctant sigh, he reached into his pouch and opened it, revealing a collection of shimmering materials.

Ivaris, though still somewhat wary, followed suit, pulling open his own pouch.

Emery peered inside, his mind already racing. The reason he was willing to make such an exchange was simple—an ingredient’s rank didn’t always determine its usefulness. A high-tier material like the Seven Rainbow Flower was indeed rare, but its true potential lay in whether he had the right complementary ingredients and recipes to utilize it effectively. Instead of restricting himself to a single high-grade component, Emery preferred to diversify his options with multiple Tier-7 materials that could be more easily integrated into his alchemical processes.

As he examined their pouches, several materials stood out to him. He carefully weighed his options before finally selecting two:

Mana Flame Petal – A rare herb imbued with a unique fire essence. It had the potential to create elixirs that ignited one spirit’s energy.

Duskwillow Bark – A stabilizing component known for balancing volatile reactions. It was highly sought after for brewing high-energy elixirs and could be essential in crafting potions that required delicate equilibrium between opposing magical forces.

The transaction was completed, and despite the initial conflict, all three seemed content with the arrangement. Horus gave a small smirk, clearly pleased with his new acquisition, while Ivaris crossed his arms, accepting the trade despite his lingering irritation.

“Well then,” Horus stretched lazily, glancing around the cave. “I suppose there’s nothing else left to explore here.”

The realization hit them all at once—time was running out. They had spent too long in this cave. Only four hours remained in the trial, and both Ivaris and Kaelyn were eager to move on, knowing that every second counted.

Before leaving, Kaelyn turned to Emery, her expression sharp and demanding. “You will explain everything after we leave this realm.”

Ivaris, more composed now, gave Emery a firm nod. “If you find any news about my brother… any news at all… let me know.”

Emery held his gaze and, in an effort to repay Ivaris for his earlier support, decided to offer something valuable in return. “Actually… I know where your brother is. I’ll tell you after the trial.”

Ivaris’s eyes widened in surprise before a grin slowly formed. “Hah! That’s good news! Later then.” With that, he turned and left, following Kaelyn out of the cave.

Emery, however, remained behind. He had told them he needed more time to recover, but in truth, he had another reason for lingering.

While he had been devouring the trees earlier, he had noticed something peculiar—something that others had likely overlooked. Beneath the wreckage of destroyed flora, hidden in the dust and debris, was a faint, shimmering glow.

With a wave of his hand, he cast a controlled gust of wind, sending a swirling vortex through the cave. As the dust lifted, tiny, glimmering particles floated into the air like stardust, catching the dim cave light.

Emery’s eyes sharpened. This was no ordinary residue.

These were remnants of high-grade plants—pure essence dust—small particles of concentrated magical energy left behind when highly charged flora was destroyed. However, they were tainted with poisonous contaminants, making them unusable in their current state.

However, once cleansed, it would become a formidable alchemical ingredient—potentially on par with Tier-7 materials, if not more valuable in certain applications.

After gathering a sufficient amount, Emery sealed the dust into his pouch and exhaled, satisfied with his unexpected find.

With his task complete, he finally left the cave, determined to make the most of the remaining time. He spent the next few hours following the note and scouring the realm for additional resources, pushing himself to locate anything that could give him an edge in his craft.

And then, at long last, the twelve-hour challenge came to an end.

A brilliant flash of light engulfed the realm as the environment around them began to dissolve and all participants were pulled back to the designated return point.

The first trial was over.