Ascension: Strongest Fateless Mage

"Open any chest you want," princess Nerissa spoke while pointing at the three chests that looked the same.

'Tarto, which chest is the best?' Zevien asked Tarto since he thought that Tarto could see the contents of the chest just like how he could see the contents of that storage box in the escort mission.

"I can't see their contents," Tarto said casually, "the dungeons and these chests are produced by a higher power that runs the whole magia realm. I am not strong enough to get past that power."

'Oh…well, then I'll choose the middle one,' Zevien thought before he walked towards the middle chest and opened it.

Inside the chest, he saw a yellow-rank magic crystal and a scroll.

"Not bad," princess Nerissa said before opening the other two chests.

Zevien glanced at the chests she opened and raised his eyebrows at the 3rd chest's contents. There was a Green-rank magic crystal in the chest.

"Ohh! A green-rank crystal, I am sure the King will be happy to receive this from the princess!" Arai exclaimed in visible excitement.

'If I remember correctly, a Green-rank magic crystal can increase magicules by 5%. It looks like the King I met was past the rank of a 1st-class magician,' Zevien thought.

"No, he was not," Tarto said with a snort, "far from it. That King hadn't reached the level where he could access magicules."

"Open the scroll, and tell us what spell you got," princess Nerissa said as she put the contents of her chest into her storage rings. She looked at Zevien and grinned, "if it's a good spell, then I can buy it from you at an appropriate price."

"Alright," Zevien nodded as he put the Yellow-rank magic crystal in his storage ring and opened the scroll.

The moment he opened it, his head received information from the scroll via some magical means that told him the spell's details.

*****

[Sanguine Needles]

-Tier: 2

-Effect: Conjures Sanguine Needles to attack. Foes injured by the needles have their healing reduced by 30%.

*****

'Hmmm…there are other similar spells, so should I sell it?' Zevien fell into thought before shaking his head, 'no, the spells from this labyrinth are not registered since nobody had awakened this labyrinth in the Gaia continent before me. Also, the needle attacks should be fast and precise, so it's better than the other heal reduction spells I know. Hmm, there are more possibilities regarding this spell. Yep, I shouldn't sell it.'

"Sorry, but I will not be selling this spell. Though if you want to know what it is, I can tell you," Zevien said as he put the scroll in his storage ring.

Princess Nerissa nodded, "I want to know."

Zevien told her what spell he got, but after hearing it, she became uninterested, "oh, we already have it in the library, and someone had created a tier-3 spell using this spell as a base."

"Ahh, yes. I remember that spell. It's Sewing Ter-"

*smack!*

"Idiot, don't even speak its name. That spell is important despite being tier-3 because of its potential!" Princess Nerissa smacked Arai as she spoke while glancing at Zevien.

Zevien was curious, but he shook his head, "I won't have money to buy the fusion method, so leave it. I am fine with not knowing it. But since it is important, why does Arai know about it?"

"Because he is the son of Duke Howzer, and he can get access to the royal library," princess Nerissa smirked, "but you can not. However, I can make it happen with some conditions."

"I'll think about it when I come here next time," Zevien said before walking towards the door that appeared after they killed the Xenowrath boss.

After Zevien entered the door, he arrived outside from the backyard's door that had closed after they entered inside. Two knights were waiting there and blocked Zevien as they asked, "where are princess Nerissa and Arai?"

Zevien turned around in response and waited for a few seconds before Arai, and princess Nerissa came out of the door.

The knights turned around and started walking after seeing them coming out.

After coming up from the underground cave, Zevien turned to princess Nerissa and spoke, "thanks for the opportunity. Now I go."

"Come again, I'll have a deal for you," Princess Nerissa said with a faint smile.

*****

[Magic Quest initiated]

-Meet princess Nerissa the next time you enter the Inviolable Blood Garden magic labyrinth.

*****

'What? No…,' Zevien was startled and sighed inwardly. He didn't want to have a magic quest related to her. 'Can I remove the quest?' Zevien asked on his own, hoping to get an answer. But he didn't get any even after waiting for several seconds.

"What are you standing in a daze for?" Arai asked doubtfully, looking at dazed Zevien.

Zevien snapped out of his thoughts and shook his head, "nothing. Anyway, bye." He unfurled his wings and flew away.

After going out of the castle, he went to complete the task of bringing some magic plants from a nearby valley. There were some grade-5 and grade-4 magic beasts, but he was not bothered by them because he could outrun and fly faster than grade-4 magic beasts now.

After completing this quest and gaining 230 gold coins, he had to leave because it was time to go.

He spent ten gold coins to book a room in an inn for four hours this time instead of going out. This price was high because he was in a capital town. Otherwise, the shabby inns in the other cities cost five gold coins for one whole day and a one-time meal.

After entering the room, he started meditating to stay as long as possible in the labyrinth.

…

After a while, he appeared back in his luxurious room in the Zenith Corp. building and checked his magic power.

However, Zevien was surprised to see something else, "a message from the magic guild branch? Could it be…" He quickly opened the message and saw that it was about the Rookie Skyward Peak contest.

"So it's finally time for it…," Zevien grinned and was excited to fight in the contest. He was going to do it super flashily for his plan.