The other island was barer than the first, with little upon it besides a stone cave shaped like a low hill that Adyr had built himself. A lone Duskrend circled the site in wide, batlike loops, keeping a patient watch over the emptiness.

Scattered nearby stood several plastic-looking barrels that Adyr had brought from the Legacy Domain, each filled with water capable of generating wind.

He had not yet integrated this water into the island, but he was already sketching a plan in his mind: carve out a small habitat, seed it with the wind element, and let it animate a portion of this blank terrain.

With Nimbus Land now carrying cloud traits and a faint natural breeze, the idea felt more practical than before, as if the island itself were ready to accept it.

"And I still have this." A long stone staff formed in his energy body’s hand, and with time at last on his side, he decided to inspect it closely.

It was the Tower of Worth , now reduced to a size that fit the hand yet long enough to serve as a weapon.

He thought he could wield it like a monk’s staff, but there was a problem: he had no idea how durable it was or whether it could truly be used in battle.

Before testing that, he did what he always did with the unknown.

He released his Presence in small, pulsing waves along the staff and waited, watching for any response to his Genesis energy—the same way the Mother Tree had answered him before.

The result was positive; a system message appeared and raised his expectations.

[Tower of Worth responding to the energy source of Genesis.]

[Tower of Worth is restoring...]

This time, instead of the familiar " [Mother Tree growing...] " prompt, the message read " [Tower of Worth is restoring...] ."

When he considered the difference in their nature, it made sense, so he watched the staff’s physical traits shift in his hand.

It looked like ancient stone, worn and latticed with cracks, yet slowly and steadily the surface began to renew. Its size and thickness did not change, but the stone regained its natural color and the fissures sealed in quick succession.

It did not look brand new when the process ended a few seconds later, but it was clearly restored to a better state than before.

Also, unlike the Mother Tree ’s growth, which expanded the entire Sanctuary each time it grew, this restoration touched only the Tower of Worth itself. Nothing else changed.

To understand what had changed internally, Adyr opened the system description again.

[Name] Tower of Worth

[Rank] 2

Description:

At the heart of the Deep, a vast crown of stone once rose where gods idled and eternity loosened its grip. Not a hall for amusement, but a bastion built to bear the weight of time and what lies beyond.

Now it sleeps as a forgotten monument, waking once each Cycle to drink power, weigh the daring, and leave a single reward in their path.

[Next Weighing: Available]

In the description, only one thing seemed to have changed, but as he read it, Adyr felt it was a good change and found nothing to complain about.

"So now can I take all the trials again?"

It wasn’t just that the Tower of Worth was ready for trials once more. This time he was alone, and the thought that he might earn every reward himself was enough to stir him.

Not wanting to waste time, he summoned the staff to his body in the Legacy Domain and closed his hands around it.

Fortunately, because it counted as a treasure, sending it to his Sanctuary and calling it back cost no energy, so he had nothing to worry about on that front.

He then attempted to activate it, aiming to restart the trials.

At first, unsure how to activate it, he let a thread of transparent energy seep from his palm into the staff. It shivered, then yanked; his body thinned into blurred strands and drew inward. A heartbeat later, only the staff hovered where he had stood.

When his vision cleared, he found himself once more in the coliseum, standing on the golden sand.

"Hm?" He looked around. Everything was as before, but one thing was missing.

"Where are the spectators this time?"

The stands, where crowds should have been, were empty; he was truly alone this time.

Moments later, a system message appeared, making the reason plain.

[Hearken, O Coliseum of gilded sand and ancient stone. The Herald of Contest summons your presence.]

"Wasn’t it something like ’Hearken, children of the Coliseum. The sands summon your valor; step forth and be proved?’ Now it sees me as its owner?" Adyr murmured, watching the world around him shift.

As the system’s opening announcement faded, the empty tiers answered: the golden sand rose in sweeping currents and, with swift precision, shaped thousands of spectators along the stands, each figure formed of dust and then quickened into lifelike flesh.

Unlike before, none of them cheered or chanted; every spectator stood in complete silence, heads bowed, a boundless reverence settling over the arena like a veil, with Adyr standing at the center of this grand reception.

Seeing that this no longer resembled a gladiator arena—no eager spectators, no hunger for blood—but rather the reception for a grand emperor about to give a speech, Adyr began to doubt.

If there was no trial, how was he supposed to earn rewards?

He voiced his concern to the Tower. "Can we skip the formalities and move to the reward phase?"

If the Tower now saw him as its owner, there was no need to test whether he was worthy. He asked for the rewards directly.

But it turned out not to be so simple. The Tower answered and put his doubts to rest.

[The First Trial is called.]

Goal: Slay the Beast

Reward: 100 free stat points

Payout: Win to claim the reward

The iron gate along the arena wall lifted with a grinding pull. A creature stepped through, slow and heavy-footed.

"Okay, it’s not the lion this time, but isn’t this a little too much?" Adyr watched the beast emerge from the shadows, brows knitting as he muttered.

Its massive, gray-bluish body filled the passage. Thick, wrinkled hide dulled the light like weathered stone. Broad ears flared and settled. A long trunk swept the air, tasting the dust, while ivory tusks curved forward like pale scythes.

Each step hit with a muffled thud, toes splaying, nails scraping grit across the floor. Small, wary eyes studied the open ground, and a deep rumble rolled from its chest.

It was an elephant—an animal Adyr had not seen in a very long time, extinct on the Earth he now lived in.

He wasn’t sure whether elephants were common in the Beyond, and after the lion, seeing this one left him both nostalgic and confused. The Tower, however, did not exist to answer questions; it existed to measure worth.

With that thought, he let the sentiment go. In the next second, he unfurled his clouded wings, drew the sword from his back, and rushed the giant, slashing its massive throat with hardly any resistance or hesitation.

He was certain of one thing: only the rewards mattered now.