"Congratulations, Thalira of Luna, and Velari of Adyr. It was a pleasure both to witness and to be witnessed in a moment this important." Brakhtar Gorat’s voice rolled over the golden sand, solemn like tribal ceremonial music.

"Indeed, it’s something worth celebrating. Why don’t we throw a feast once we’re out of here?" Adyr answered with a warm, open smile. It sounded like a joke, yet his manner was wholly sincere, and the suggestion settled over the group like a welcome breath.

Brakhtar dipped his round head. A rare smile touched his lips, startling even his closest acquaintances. "I would be honored to host you and share a cup."

For a Gorathim, inviting a stranger into one’s home was rarer even than that smile; nevertheless, his kin offered no objection. They simply approved in silence, as if the invitation itself were a small rite.

"Before you start making party plans, why not try leaving the cages you’re in?" Thalira spoke at last, her face indifferent, her eyes cool.

Even so, a sharp current seemed to move in her pupils; the stillness around her read like impatience barely leashed, the poise of a war goddess who wanted the world to hurry up.

Adyr turned to her with a courteous smile. "My elders taught me that ladies go first."

A faint crease touched her brow. "And I was taught by my leaders: on a battlefield, there are no ladies or gentlemen."

She refused to be the first to move or unveil her new power before the others.

"Wise words," Adyr said, inclining his head, his features clearing as if he had found enlightenment hidden under those words.

He turned to Brakhtar. "Would you like to go first?"

Brakhtar paused, tasting the air, and fixed his gaze on the golden bars. "I can try."

The Practitioners who had watched the top trio’s quiet exchange until now shifted as one, turning their full attention to Brakhtar.

They were eager, finally, to see one of them act and to witness what power their advancement had given. But when Brakhtar did nothing at first—only locking eyes with the golden bars in a kind of staring contest—their faces fell.

"Why is this big guy staring so much..." Loudbark whispered to Maruun in the neighboring cage. But when he realized something was actually happening, he swallowed the rest of his words and only managed: "Oh, fuck..."

The dark sigil etched into Brakhtar’s bald head flared with a strange, phosphorescent blue. While it glowed, the bars around him answered with a low, drawn-out creak; then, one by one, they began to give.

Metal complained, joints whispered, and the lattice bent inward as if worked by careful, unseen fingers. Within seconds, an opening yawned wide enough for his bulk to pass.

He stepped through easily. The Tower absorbed the sight into a heavy, echoing hush. For a moment, there was nothing but the soft rasp of breath and a few scattered gasps echoing around.

Telekinesis? Or something else? Adyr’s eyes tracked the bend points and the way force had traveled through the rails; while he measured the resistance in his head, the conclusion formed cleanly. The bars had yielded as though gripped and worked by invisible hands.

"Not so bad." Thalira didn’t sound impressed, but her features said otherwise as she set her weight and raised the rapier for her move.

The blade flashed silver for a blink, and a hair-thin cut appeared on one of the golden bars. It was so fast, faster than what she had shown before.

As expected, her speed rose another level. And...

Adyr, watching closely, noted the small electric current that lingered where the tip had kissed the metal, a faint thread crawling along the cut before it faded.

Though the bars didn’t give way instantly, Thalira was only testing her strength; soon her rapier flashed a few more times, each stroke even faster, and silver-and-blue electric currents spread visibly across the lattice.

In the end—only seconds later—a large portion of the cage was cut clean, the pieces dropping onto the hot sand and leaving a wide opening for her to pass through.

"Impressive." Adyr watched, then clapped, offering the praise without hesitation.

Thalira didn’t answer. She simply waited, studying him; her look made it clear she expected him to show what he had as well.

Although Brakhtar and Thalira had already stepped out of their cages—and only one more person needed to escape for the trial to end—they didn’t move to help their teammates first. They held their ground and waited.

It wasn’t just that Adyr looked confident, standing there and watching as if he could leave his cage whenever he wished. It was also respect. Moments ago, he had the chance to attack them with his cloud and chose not to. That restraint was enough for them to give him this moment.

Adyr, aware that everyone was waiting for him to make his move, decided not to waste any more time and stepped closer to the golden bars inside his cage.

The next second, his body was already outside.

"What? He teleported?"

Seeing him stand there a moment ago and then appear beyond the bars sent the Practitioners into a frenzy.

Teleportation skills were so rare that most of them had never seen one used, nor had they seen the Spark sold in the market. Watching Adyr do it made them gasp in disbelief.

But of course, it was only an illusion to their eyes. Only those with keen vision, able to track his movement, understood what had happened.

"So he got the White Shroud’s movement ability," Thalira Luna murmured, narrowing her eyes. She was one of the few who had followed the motion clearly.

She saw clearly that his body turned to white vapor like a cloud, rushed through the bars of his cage, and solidified on the other side in the same instant, so fast it looked like a true teleport.

Adyr hadn’t displayed an offensive skill like the other two, yet what he revealed was enough to unsettle everyone.

And the best part was that this was only one of the abilities Adyr had gained from his new evolution.

[The Fourth Trial has Concluded.]

Winners: calculating... displaying...

Winner - Brakhtar Gorat → Synergy Essence 1x awarded

Winner - Adyr Hellcraft → Synergy Essence 1x awarded

Winner - Thalira Luna → Synergy Essence 1x awarded

After the system message, a single blur of crystal—shaped and colored like a drop of water materialized in front of Adyr and settled gently into his palm.

So this is Synergy Essence? He cast a sidelong glance at the others.

Seeing their excited faces and how they immediately sent the item to their Sanctuaries, as if afraid someone might snatch it, he did the same, sending it to his Nimbus Land to examine later.

More importantly, the next trial was about to start, and they needed to focus now, because this one would require everything they had to win.

[The Fifth and Final Trial is called.]

Goal: Prove your worth.

Reward: Tower of Worth.

Payout: Only 1 is worthy enough.

Seeing that it was the final trial made most breathe with relief, but when they saw the reward, they grew tenser than ever.