The Headmaster's announcement marked the end of the mandatory trials and the beginning of the celebratory atmosphere. Leo and Lysander were officially Academy students.
"A feast! You promised!" Lysander clapped Leo on the shoulder, his earlier fears forgotten in the rush of passing. "We'll hit the best tavern in the city. You, my friend, are paying, considering you're now a secret billionaire prince."
Leo laughed, a sound rarely heard from Prince Theron. "A small price for your loyalty, Lysander. Lead the way."
They spent the evening celebrating their survival and their success, avoiding the stiff, formal celebrations of the higher-ranking nobles. Later, they settled into their shared dorm room small, functional, and far more comfortable than any battlefield trench. Lysander fell asleep almost instantly, but Leo stayed awake, staring at the ceiling. The Headmaster's gaze, the immense point total, and the solemn Voice of Fate still echoed in his mind. He knew this Academy was just the beginning of a much larger, darker war.
The next morning, Leo returned to the Main Hall. Lysander had declined the optional round.
"I'm in, Theron, but I don't need the extra danger," Lysander had said before leaving. "I have a family legacy to uphold, and I can't risk permanent injury in an optional test. Stay safe, idiot."
In the Main Hall, only twelve students had gathered for the Third Round: The Trial of Fortune. Among them were Prince Varrus, and Princess Elara, Theron's beautiful but distant sister, both eager for greater glory.
Varrus spotted Leo and approached, forcing a stiff smile. "Theron, I see you decided to stop hiding. Perhaps we should join forces? We are brothers, after all."
Before Leo could answer, Headmaster Valerant stepped onto the dais, his eyes sharp. "Silence! This round is not for grouping. It is entirely individual. Each of you will enter a unique portal, a dimensional rift, which will be determined by your pure luck. It may lead you to an unimaginable treasure, or to a disaster that breaks your soul. Your survival and return with the dimensional artifact is your success."
One by one, the elite students stepped into the churning portals. Varrus went first, vanishing with a snarl of excitement. Elara followed, her face a mask of cold determination. None returned.
Finally, it was Leo's turn. He stepped through the rift without hesitation.
Leo did not land on solid ground; he plunged through a sky of burning orange and smoke. He stabilized himself, looking down at a world tearing itself apart. Below was a battlefield of titanic scale. It was a world on the brink of absolute defeat the final war between humanity and creatures spewing forth from vast, crimson Rifts.
The scale of the battle was horrifying. The few human figures still fighting were gods among men, their power far exceeding anything the Academy considered Master Rank. They fought with weary desperation against monsters that scraped against the Level 100 mark.
I am nothing compared to them, Leo thought, instantly assessing the brutal reality. But this is a war, and I know how to fight a war.
He descended rapidly, landing on the edge of the conflict. He was far too weak to face these monsters directly, but he didn't need to. He needed to be a force multiplier.
Summoning the strength of the Knight King's Trial, he exerted his will, calling forth a spectral projection of his Knight Army. A tide of glowing, armored figures archers, swordsmen, and heavy infantry materialized around him, thousands strong.
"Advance! Target the Rift spawn!" Leo roared, taking tactical command.
The sudden arrival of the spectral army caused the high-rank human defenders to pause. They recognized the energy the power of the Knight King's Legacy.
With Leo's army providing tactical pressure, killing the swarms of weaker, high-level monsters, the Grand Master humans were finally given a crucial gap to rest and consolidate. They used the reprieve to eliminate the remaining massive Rift creatures.
The battle subsided into a tense calm. Three of the powerful human leaders a weathered man with a greatsword, a stern woman encased in shimmering light, and an old, scarred warrior approached Leo.
"You are the new Knight King," the old warrior stated, his voice heavy with ancient knowledge.
Leo was puzzled. "Knight King? I don't know what you mean."
The woman's eyes, shimmering with faint magic, widened slightly. "He is not from our world, and his inheritance is not yet complete."
The three exchanged solemn, weary glances. They understood. This was a random traveler pulled by the whim of a dimensional rift, likely a new successor to the fading power they once served. Their world was lost, but perhaps another could be saved.
The weathered man stepped forward and placed three objects on the scorched earth before Leo.
A crystalline sphere pulsating with refined energy: a High-Level Mana Core.
A scroll glowing with dark crimson: the God Killing Slash Skill.
A glowing, emerald flask: the God's Healing Elixir.
Leo's eyes widened in genuine shock. These items were not just rare; they were legendary, capable of changing the balance of power in his world.
"Thank you for these treasures," Leo managed to say, quickly tucking them into his Ring. "I will repay you by eliminating the remaining monsters in this sector."
The man with the greatsword's face was grave. "We did not give these to you to fight for us. This world is already finished. Furthermore, this is the worst possible time for you to appear here."
Leo frowned. "Why? The strongest enemies are gone. We just killed the main force."
The scarred warrior looked toward the distant, smoking horizons with deep despair. "No. The main force is not even here. They are about to arrive. You must increase your power quickly to protect your world. Do not waste a single moment."
He pointed a shaking finger at a rift in the distance that was expanding rapidly, pouring out more energy than the entire previous wave combined.
"They shouldn't know of your existence or your current weakness. You must leave. Now!"
Leo felt the air crackle with impossible power. He was about to ask what enemy they were facing who 'they' were but a forced, irresistible pull seized him. He was violently thrown backward, straight into a rapidly forming exit portal.
Just before the portal swallowed him, Leo witnessed the true scale of the disaster. Through the widening rift, a horde of unimaginably vast, grotesque monsters poured in. And riding upon the back of a colossal, black-scaled Dragon a creature large enough to cast a shadow over entire mountains sat a figure on a throne. That figure wore a crown of shadow and radiated a cold, absolute malice that chilled Leo's spirit even from a distance.
Leo stumbled out of the portal in the Main Hall, back among the few survivors, clutching the treasures. The Headmaster looked at the dimensional artifact clutched in Leo's hand a small piece of scorched earth with a glowing crystal embedded in it and gave a curt nod.
Lord Valerant announced, his eyes calculating. "The Third Round is concluded."