Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

Chapter 565: Trial of Endurance

A week later.

Adam stood before the doors to the third chamber, a solemn look blanketing his face.

In the past week, he had already gotten his things in order, informing everyone he needed to about his two-month-long absence.

His students had already left the city for their respective missions given by the Twilight Brotherhood. He had left Valerian in Rowanʼs care, knowing the latter would take good care of his familiar.

Now that everything had been taken care of, he had finally entered the Raven Inheritance.

He took a deep breath and pushed open the stone doors. With a drawn-out creak, the doors opened, revealing the roomʼs interiors.

It was the same as the previous two rooms, nothing different in particular. From what he had surmised, Adam knew that he would have to go through another illusion. An illusion spanning sixty days.

As soon as he reached the center of the room, the androgynous voice from before echoed.

”Congratulations on making it to the third chamber! The Trial of Endurance will now commence!”

The voice paused for a moment before continuing, ”Your storage artifact will be rendered useless for the duration of this trial.”

”What?” Adam was taken aback.

The next moment, his earring pulsed with a strange energy, causing him to once again be startled. He willed it in his mind to take out a random item from his earring, but he was unable to.

This caused him to be astonished. ”This inheritance ground can directly bypass my control over my artifact?! Incredible!”

This simply went on to show just how powerful and knowledgeable in the arcane arts the one who left behind this inheritance was.

The following moment, the space around Adam distorted and his surroundings began to change. The dilapidated stone room gradually turned into an expansive desert!

”I see,” the youth muttered softly. ”This place is going to test my patience and ability to endure. The reason my earring was disabled was so that I didnʼt consume any food and water…”

He was finally beginning to understand the true motive behind this test.

”If this is so…” Adam stroked his chin as the rays of the brilliant sun bore down on his skin.

Should I refrain from using the white lotus?

He wondered.

Using this legendary artifact would be equivalent to cheating inside this inheritance. This was especially true when he had ended up using the lotus in the last trial where he had to face his desire for wealth.

Adam took accountability for the fact that if it werenʼt for the lotus, he most certainly would not have been able to pass that test.

He knew that he was a deeply avaricious man. His desire for wealth stemmed from the prolonged suffering he had to go through as a poverty-stricken child.

Such a desire was very difficult to overcome overnight.

If he used the lotus once again in this test, then what was the point of this inheritance?

The founder of Saratoga had built this inheritance in such a way that the participants would not be able to use any artifacts.

But even he hadnʼt thought in his wildest dreams that one day a Magus wielding the white lotus would undertake the trials that he had left behind.

After deliberating for a few moments, Adam ultimately decided to not use the lotus for this trial, or any other trials henceforth.

Right at that instant, the white lotus that majestically floated in the center of his spirit sea suddenly began to rumble. The following moment, it slowly submerged into the bottomless depths.

Adam exhaled a deep breath, slightly shocked at what had just transpired. He had never before ʼdeactivatedʼ this artifact in his life.

Even when he was subconscious, the lotus always remained ever-present. But for the first time, he learned what would occur when he actually decided not to use it.

He didnʼt have too much time to ponder about it, however. Because the blazing rays of the sun had already drenched his clothes, making him extremely uncomfortable.

Adam looked around and saw dunes upon dunes for miles on end. He was in the middle of a desert and there was nothing else in sight except sand. Lots and lots of sand.

He involuntarily touched his throat as he struggled to get the words out of his mouth, ”Damn it… Iʼm already so thirsty. It hasnʼt even been a few minutes…”

Without the white lotus, his experience inside an illusion was like the difference between night and day.

He was finally beginning to understand what all those foes he had slain in the past felt like after being put inside his illusion.

His lips slowly curled up into a faint smile. ”I truly pity the enemies Iʼll make in the future…”

The desert sun beat down relentlessly on him, draining his energy. The heat bounced off the sand, distorting the horizon and making it difficult for him to focus.

He had been aimlessly walking in this desert for countless hours. Or was it countless days? He could not tell.

”Damn… it…” Adam had already removed his upper garments. Now, he had wrapped the cloak around his head, preventing it from burning under the sun.

So this is the horror of an illusion…

he thought to himself in distress.

I feel like Iʼve been walking for days… Every step I take becomes harder and harder, but something tells me I havenʼt taken a single step forward in reality…

The power of illusions is truly mind-boggling!

For the first time, he was experiencing the terror that he made his enemies go through. It was surely a novel experience.

He was certain that only a couple of hours had passed in the chamber. Yet, inside the illusion, he felt as if days had passed.

Furthermore, even the illusion of temperature, thirst, and hunger felt very vivid to him.

Damn it!

He cursed inwardly.

Should I… activate the white lotus? I… wonʼt have to go through all this trouble then.

He suddenly paused in his footsteps, atop a small sandy mound. The weight of his exhaustion was settling in.

His skin was burning and his body was crying out for water and rest. However, there was none in sight.

Adam gritted his teeth and then continued to walk.

Endure it! This is the damn purpose of this trial! Endure it!

He continued to repeat the same words in his mind over and over again.

Endure! Endure! Endure!

The youth pushed through the intense physical discomfort, resisting the urge to collapse under the blazing sunʼs oppresive heat.

Days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months.

On several ocassions, he was tempted to stop and use the lotus, but he chose not to.

He continued to move. He continued to endure.

By now, he had grown a thick beard. His physique was extremely emaciated and his skin was covered in burns and blisters, especially his feet. His appearance was haggard to say the least.

Of course, this was all inside the illusion.

But still, it was easy to give into despair and weakness. Nonetheless, he continued to endure.

This was a true test for his mind, and he knew that once he came out of this trial, he would benefit greatly from it.

Heh, its just the heat and the sand,

he said to himself inwardly as he dragged his feet through the endless desert.

This illusion… I will conquer it without the lotus! This much is nothing for me—

Right at that moment, his thoughts came to an abrupt halt and he froze in his footsteps.

Just when he thought that he had grown accustomed to this illusion, something appeared before him, causing his body to shudder and his eyes to tear up.

A mirage had appeared!