Stark stood frozen, unable to believe what had just happened. The Mirror Master's words echoed in his mind: "At least... only one of you will escape this place."
Before him was Orasio's burning figure.
[Orasio HP: 0/4300]
He tried to move, to help Orasio, but there was no point: he was already dead.
All he could do was watch as Orasio's body was consumed by the dark flames, and soon enough ,his aura vanished, then his body turned to dust as the flames were extremely powerful.
"…" Stark looked at the remains of his companion's body with a blank expression, "I guess… sigh… anyways."
Orasio had indeed activated all his skills, but the sheer pressure of the flames were enough to shatter his barrier, and so without any back-up plan, thinking that his barrier would be enough, he was consumed by the flames and killed.
Stark would have suffered the same fate without his [Invincible Dodge] skill, but there was no reason to think too much about it.
[Congratulations, CHOSEN ONE, you have completed the Death-Level domination trial: 'Glass Purgatory']
The world around Stark began to change, and soon enough he found himself in the clearing he and the others were in since they appeared inside that trial, there were five of them at the beginning, all of them smiling, and now, only one was allowed out.
The towering pillars were still there, and the skeletons were back to their original spot, and the path to the mirror with the frame made out of bones was still proudly standing in the middle of that clearing.
[You are the first person to ever clear a Death-Level domination trial, good job!]
Stark began walking toward the mirror where it all started, he didn't know why, but there was something in him telling him it was the right thing to do.
He took his first step, and more panels appeared.
[You have slain "Mirror Master lv30 (TRIAL BOSS)", gained 340000 EXP!]
He was enveloped by the golden glow again, it had become familiar for him to level up after defeating each of the guardians now because of the sheer amount of EXP they gave.
Any normal person would be able to shoot from level 1 to at least 7-10 with this amount, and yet…
[Your level has increased to level 16, granting you one skill point and boost in stats]
[Experience: 187617/225000]
'…' Stark kept walking.
[You have completed the 'Glass Purgatory', granting INCREDIBLE rewards]
[+1 LEGENDARY Skill, +4 Equipment Pieces, +3000 HP]
While heading toward the mirror that would be his exit from this hell, he saw the figures of Boxer, Dreamer, Hero, and finally, Orasio, staring at him.
They were transparent, but it was obvious it was them from their aura and appearance, and by their expressions, it didn't seem like they were mad.
Instead, Dreamer and Boxer were nodding their heads in approval, while Hero and Orasio were smiling bitter sweetly, clapping their hands to applaud for his victory.
[You have proven your worth, Stark Heartsouls, now leave]
And right as this panel appeared, Stark found himself in front of the mirror, the reflection showing his hotel room.
'Sigh, let's get this over with,' he looked at the mirror while stepping backward, just like how they did it to enter the purgatory in the first place.
And soon enough, he passed the portal and was sent back to reality.
[Domination trial: Glass Purgatory… CLEARED]
***
"HWAHHH~" Stark opened his eyes, he had been lying on the ground when he collapsed and was sent to the Glass Purgatory, and he found himself in that exact position when he woke up.
Stark stood in his hotel room, still relatively shaken by the experience he'd just went through.
He was glad he was able to complete the trial, but in exchange all the others had to die: he was the sole survivor.
Even the most promising and powerful domination users at their level died, so he could only wonder how any of the other folks could dream of defeating even the first guardian.
But the answer was obvious: they wouldn't be able to, even a level 40 classifier would struggle.
Then he immediately remembered about the reason he had gone through everything in the first place: those damn rewards.
[+1 LEGENDARY Skill]
[+4 Equipment Pieces]
[+3000 HP]
[Click to unlock!]
These four golden panels appeared in front of him.
Without hesitation, Stark clicked on the HP one, and as soon as he did so, a green aura enveloped his body.
[Gained 3000HP!]
[Health:6100/6100]
His health was extremely high now, especially for his level, meaning he could tank more and do more risky things.
'Nice…'
He turned his eyes toward the second panel, the one with the four pieces of equipment, and he clicked on it without much thought.
As soon as he did, two rings, a piece of clothing, and the crystal shard the Mirror Master was using appeared in front of him, dropping to the ground.
'Let's check it out I guess…'
"PERCEPTION!"
He analyzed the two rings, the first had a black flame burning in the spot where a gem is supposed to be, while the second had a blue gem that emanated a beautiful aura.
[Equipment:] The Purgatory Shadows
[Type:] Ring
[Class:] Domination
[Tier:] Epic
[Required Level:] 15
[Quality:] Perfect
[Attributes:] +100 speed
[Special Perk:] When receiving a hit, a shadow of yourself appears to take the hit in your place, whether it is 1 point of damage or 10000.
[Equipment:] The Devourer's Ring
[Type:] Ring
[Class:] Magus/Domination
[Tier:] Rare
[Required Level:] 20
[Quality:] Good
[Attributes:] +500MP
[Special Perk:] Your resistance to water type magic increases by 100%, and your water type damage increases by 200%.
'I don't have water type skills, so it doesn't matter to me, but it seems like every single one of those items is linked to one of the guardians…'
The first ring was linked to the Creeping Shadows, while the second to the Black Water Devourer.
And that left two items on the ground: the clothing, which was basically just a weird cloak, and the crystal shard.
Stark picked up the cloak, feeling its texture against his fingers.
[Equipment:] Conjoined Warrior's Cloak
[Type:] Cloak
[Class:] All
[Tier:] Rare
[Required Level:] 15
[Quality:] Good
[Attributes:] +150 strength, +100 speed
[Special Perk:] Wearing this cloak while fighting will result in the chance of inflicting a critical hit on your opponent (dealing massive damage), the chance is only 5%.
'It's the same one that warrior skeleton was wearing… no items from the witch I guess.'
Finally, he picked up the crystal shard, wondering what it could be.
[Equipment:] Mirror Master's Crystal Shard
[Type:] Cast
[Class:] Domination
[Tier:] Legendary
[Required Level:] 20
[Quality:] Exquisite
[Attributes:] It is a caste item so no stat boost
[Special Perk:] You can use this crystal to cast a giant glass shard that deals incredible damage to one enemy, there is a cooldown of ten minutes between each use, and it is recommended to infuse the shard into a ring for better use.
The rewards weren't disappointing, at least for now.
After all… he still had one more golden panel in front of him.
[+1 LEGENDARY Skill]
And so he clicked it, expecting something incredible, something that was worth the other four's deaths, something that would help him conquer everything.