Izroth set his gaze onto Sage, however, he soon shook his head as he responded, "She has already paid the price with her life. I am not a man who lingers on the past. What's done is done." There was nothing personal Izroth had against Sage, therefore, as long as she did not continue trying to unjustly claim his life, then he did not see a problem with the mysterious man's actions. However, if she had not learned her lesson even in death, then even if that mysterious man had other plans in mind... One could not blame him for the end result.

The mysterious man gave a small nod as he said, "Lingering too long on small matters will only limit one's own potential. Your mind is in the correct place. Allow me to lend you a hand in your troubles." He then held his hand out towards Izroth as various symbols of time appeared on it.

​​

At the same time, Izroth suddenly felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted off his shoulders. What was this strange and free feeling? Izroth looked down at his hands as he opened and closed them a few times. The backlash from the Full Mantle was still there and had not vanished, his Source was still depleted, and his skills were still temporarily disabled. But, despite all of this, he still felt incredibly free.

A few seconds later, a bizarre orb containing a dark purple energy appeared within the mysterious man's hand. With a single wave of his hand, the orb vanished and was sealed away.

"Someone above the firmament has their eyes on you to the extent that they were willing to place a hidden restriction inside of your body. That restriction was limiting your growth and secretly eating away at the natural Essence being drawn into your body. I have removed that restriction and sealed it away, however, it cannot be destroyed. Once it is destroyed, whoever set the restriction in place will immediately be alerted and you may be afflicted yet again." The mysterious man explained.

He then continued, "If this were the Divine Realm, it would have been impossible for me to remove the hidden restriction. However, since those above the firmament are limited in what they can and cannot do down below, it does not require much effort to take care of a simple restriction such as this."

'It looks like I have hidden enemies. But, where did they come from?'

Right when the bizarre orb in that mysterious man's hand disappeared, that was when Izroth received a stream of alerts from the system.

〈System Alert: The hidden restriction that was placed on your body has been lifted!〉

〈System Alert: The trait ability «Perfect Source Compatibility» has been unlocked!〉

〈System Alert: The generating data on «Unknown Skill» has been corrected!〉

〈System Alert: The new processing time for «Unknown Skill» has been set to 30 days!〉

〈System Alert: Due to previously generated data, the initial stage of the skill «Unknown Skill» has been unlocked! Please name the skill!〉

'This is...!'

Izroth was not often shocked, but this time, he had to admit that this was something completely unexpected! The familiar and unique energy he felt coursing throughout his body was without a doubt one that had eluded him for a long time. Although it was currently incomplete, he was positive that he was not mistaken.

'The Boundless Emperor Void Perfection!'

It was actually the Boundless Emperor Void Perfection! One had to know that the Boundless Emperor Void Perfection was among one of the first skills Izroth learned within RML, however, every time it would get close to completion, the time would suddenly increase without explanation. Or rather, it kept giving the excuse of "insufficient data" and needing a longer time to generate.

Could it be that all this time that it was due to that hidden restriction placed upon his body? Also, it was no small restriction. It was a restriction for someone above the firmament. In other words, an existence within the divine realm! There was also the fact that he unlocked Perfect Source Compatibility. This meant that his Source would be able to grow stronger even without him doing anything. Of course, he would be even stronger if he put in the effort alongside having Perfect Source Compatibility.

But, in the end, the biggest take away was undoubtedly the Boundless Emperor Void Perfection. How many days, weeks, months even had passed in-game since the skill first began to generate?

Skill Name: Boundless Emperor Void Perfection

Skill Creator: Izroth

Skill Level: 1

Skill Rank: Growth(Current Rank Equivalent: E-)

…

Just as Izroth was about to read over the rest of the skill, the voice of the mysterious man sounded out and grabbed his attention.

"With this, your life should no longer be in any immediate danger." The mysterious man said as he looked towards Sage. Since her death was the source of Savarosa's outburst, once she discovered that Sage was still alive, she would not interfere in the selection process and risk offending the legendary existences who swore to gather and attack whoever forcibly interfered in the selection while it was taking place.

"This favor is one that will not go unpaid. If there is anything you need of me in the future, do not hesitate to ask. I will return this favor to you that day." Izroth stated. He did not like owing favors to others, therefore, he would make sure to repay this mysterious man before him one day.

"I will hold you to your word. When that day comes, perhaps..." The mysterious man slowly faded away as the last few words were inaudible. Despite this, Izroth perfectly understood the exact words that left his mouth.

'When that day comes, perhaps fate will smile upon us all.'

Izroth did not know what the mysterious man meant by these words, however, this encounter had left him with more questions than answers. Who was that man? Why did he help him? Why did he want him to participate in this selection? Who was it that wanted to forcibly restrict his growth and progress? In the end, Izroth could only release a long sigh before pushing these questions to that back of his mind.

The lack of information was too severe for him to even begin speculating or attempt to answer those questions. For the time being, all he could do was remain patient. He believed that one way or another, he would find the answers he was searching for.

Around five seconds after the mysterious man vanished, time began to flow once more.

"Die!" Savarosa roared as she was about to unleash a wave of destruction upon Izroth, however, as she was closing in she stopped dead in her tracks as a look of shock and disbelief appeared on her face. The killing intent that she was releasing had disappeared and her attention was focused on the figure lying unconsciously on the ground. But, how was this possible? No, it should not be possible! Without a doubt, Sage had died!

Savarosa furrowed her brows as she sensed some unusual lingering energy in the atmosphere. This was... A Domain? Not just any Domain, but an extremely powerful one. This Domain definitely belonged to the Pinnacle Four Origin Domains!

Savarosa stepped onto the Sky Palace and stopped in front of Sage. She examined Sage to make sure that she was not mistaken and sure enough, they were still alive. A few moments later, Zushuatri arrived at the Sky Palace and had his gaze set on Savarosa. To be honest, he too was surprised that Sage was still alive as he had sensed her death from above. However, he did not have the time to enjoy the good news since he still had to deal with this troublesome person.

"What do you intend to do?" Zushuatri asked in a serious tone. He secretly wondered why Savarosa did not attempt to take Sage away while he was still out of attack range of the Sky Palace. But, just because she did not take her away immediately, did not mean that he would let his guard down against that sly fox.

Savarosa was silent at first before she turned to look towards Zushuatri as she replied, "There has been enough excitement for one day. I will take my leave for today, however..." Her gaze moved onto Sage as she continued, "It is finally complete... Finally...! I will return for it another day."

Savarosa reached her hand forward and tore open the space before her as a passageway into nothingness appeared. She did not know who it was, but someone extremely powerful was definitely here just now. It was too big of a risk for her to make a move at the moment. She stepped one foot into the passageway, but she stopped herself as she faced in the direction of Kayn who had already stood to his feet. Although he was not in critical condition, needless to say, he was still injured by Savarosa's vicious attack a few moments ago.

"My daughter had just been killed before my eyes and I was seeking revenge, however, the third young master of the Dragon Palace tried to prevent me from doing so. I hope that the young dragon prince can understand my love as a mother and excuse my offense without seeking to file a grievance." Savarosa said as if her choice of words had already been thought of beforehand. The tone of her voice was not sincere at all, however, Kayn gave a simple nod in response.

While her words were not sincere, in the end, it was the way she worded them. Indeed, a mother had all the right in the world to kill the person who murdered her child. How could his strict and fair father possibly pursue such a matter when the opposing side was justified in their actions even if it was technically during the selection process? In fact, it was even likely that he would be punished for interfering!

"Then, you will have to excuse my abrupt departure." Savarosa entered into the passageway as it immediately closed behind her. She had left the Sky Palace.

Zushuatri let out a deep and troubled sigh. He understood that Savarosa was only making a temporary retreat. Now that Sage had successfully acquired the Maelstrom Domain, her methods would only grow more cruel and cunning to take her away from the Sky Palace. This was something he knew he had to prepare for.

"Young man, as her master, I will thank you on her behalf for sparing her life. This old man will never forget this debt. Although my student is a bit troubled, it does not excuse her behavior. Therefore, I will ask for forgiveness in her place." Zushuatri said to Izroth in a sincere tone. As for the unknown entity who had trespassed on his Sky Palace... He knew what questions not to ask when it came to that person.

Izroth did not know whether to laugh or cry. Well, he supposed it would be best if Zushuatri really did think that way. There was nothing to be gained from correcting him.

"Since the master of the Sky Palace is so sincere, how can I hold a grudge? Rest assured, what's done is done." Izroth stated.

Kayn was silent as he watched Izroth and Zushuatri exchange words. He felt that something was off about Izroth. That overbearing power that had been suppressing him had disappeared without a trace! But, it looked as if Izroth did not want to discuss this matter, for the time being, therefore, he would not pursue it.

After discussing a few things and exchanging friendly words, Zushuatri cleared his throat and said, "Now, it's about time I return to the platform. Will you accompany me, third young master?"

With that, Zushuatri and Kayn headed back towards the palace along with the unconscious Sage. Once everything ended, there were no other exciting or unexpected events. The last few minutes of the selection seemed to fly by and after things finally settled down, the selection came to its official end.

…

The remaining participants in the selection were transported back to the platform after it ended. In the end, they were only a total of 20 participants that remained from the initial 1,000 participants. That was only a 2% survival rate!

"The end of the second team's selection is officially over! I shall now announce the top ten participants! These ten members will act as representatives of the Mortal Realm in the upcoming Lustrum Imperial Bout!" Zushuatri announced which caused the remaining participants to grow restless. The same thing was on all of their minds- Who made it into the top ten? However, Izroth had a different question on his mind.

'Lustrum Imperial Bout?'