Legendary Architect of Apocalypse

Instead of being incinerated like Jeskirin's finger, the boy's hand passed through the barrier without any resistance, as if it wasn't even there.

"See? I told you." Jeskirin shrugged, completely unfazed. "It seems only people below a certain age or level of power can enter. He probably didn't want someone past their prime stealing his legacy."

As he spoke, he glanced at Freya, not even hiding the fact that she was talking about her.

Freya's eye twitched again, but she refrained from retorting. Instead, she focused on the implications. "So... it's a trial?"

"Most likely, but even I can't be certain what's beyond this barrier." Jeskirin observed the barrier carefully. "It also seems to be designed to prevent anyone from interfering once they're inside. But that's all just a guess at this point."

"You would need to have more tests to confirm the exact criteria to enter. Fortunately, there are plenty of people here to help us test."

Once after another, he brought forth the youngsters from different age groups and different evolution stages.

Elias sat behind a rock, while Jeskirin started his testing with the students available there. Only occasionally. He only observed his surroundings with his senses, to ensure that he was aware of things without being exposed.

A few hours passed, before the testing finally stopped. There were a few students that had suffered through the testing, their hands completely burned off. They were immediately sent off to the healing facility.

"Only those who are younger than eighteen are able to pass through the barrier unharmed," Freya concluded just as the testing finished. "If that is the case..."

She told the Professors to gather the best students under the age of eighteen, and bring them here, especially the ones that could be beneficial to the Academy if they became the owners of the third ranked Ice Phoenix Flames.

Within hours, not just those from the Creator Class, but even those from the Destroyer Class were summoned. And none of these people belonged to the newcomers that had just joined the Academy.

At the youngest, they were third year students of the Academy, and at the oldest, they were fourth year students. Amongst them, there were a few familiar faces that Elias recognized.

One of the representatives from the Destroyer Class was the third year student who was sent to the Nightmare Tribe by Professor Grey as a punishment. He seemed quite unharmed, even after returning from such a harsh place.

The other familiar face belonged to the woman who had sent someone to guide him to the Dimensional Gate. Other than those two, there was one more person who he had seen before.

It was the girl that he saw in the meeting merely a few hours ago. Sarah was also here, and she was also one of the few people that caught the most attention.

'The Academy seems to be in a hurry. They can't even wait for the morning.' Elias thought, surprised with the kind of haste that the academy acted. 'They didn't even give these people time to prepare.'

"Of course they would be in a hurry. It's the Ice Phoenix Flames we are talking about. If it were me in my prime, even I would have tried to make those flames mine." Astralious nodded slowly.

"This makes things complicated. If they had waited till the morning, I could have found a way to sneak inside. But at this rate, it looks impossible."

Only those that were summoned by the Professors were allowed to enter. As a first year student, he was not even invited here. And even if he wanted to enter, he didn't think Freya was going to allow it.

"She clearly doesn't hold any goodwill for me. It would be a cold day in hell when she allows me an opportunity to get those flames," Elias rubbed his temples, finding the entire situation frustrating.

If he had arrived here before everyone else, he might have had an opportunity to enter the tomb. But now that opportunity was long gone.

He was still sitting behind a distant rock, while Freya started explaining the situation to the Senior Students that were selected for entering the tomb.

When she told them that they had the opportunity to inherit the Flames of Ice Phoenix, the reactions of the students were of disbelief.

Even if many of them came from the families that hoarded the treasures of heaven, but the Flames of Ice Phoenix was something that could even make their parents drool, let alone them.

"We don't know what kind of traps would be inside to test you. Most of you might not even be able to return alive if you are left to your own means. That's why you must carry this."

She gave a talisman to every student that was selected for this exploration.

"Once you are certain that you are about to die, and you want to give up, activate these talismans and you would be forcefully brought out. But that is no different than giving up on the flames."

The students took the heaven grade spatial talismans and held them firmly. The talismans couldn't bring anyone inside from outside, as the laws of the tomb didn't allow it. But they didn't prevent anyone from escaping with their life on the line.

"Even if you managed to sneak in, without those talismans, it would be extremely dangerous for you. I think you should give up at this point." Astralious sighed, watching the shining talismans being distributed.

Even though it was a loss according to him, it was better than dying in the process.

"In any case, with your unique skills, it's only a matter of time before you become stronger on your own. There is no point in risking your life for these flames."

Elias also knew that logically it made sense to give up now. But when he looked at the branches of the tree of flames, he didn't feel like giving up. Moreover, there was something inside that tomb that he wanted more than these flames.

"We are going in," he said after a brief period of silence.