However, Carl now realized that he couldn't even say that Ian had taken advantage of his sister, as even Aurora didn't seem to think like that.
'Am I overreacting or what? Didn't Ian touch her without permission?'
Seeing Aurora wasn't faking her cluelessness, Carl calmed down and became confused instead.
'Am I such a narrow-minded person?'
Carl couldn't help but doubt himself for a while. He clearly saw Ian smirking at him while grabbing Aurora's waist before the teleportation spell took effect.
But why was she not reacting violently as he thought? Instead, she was acting like nothing happened.
"Forget it. I don't care about his apology or whatnot. Let's just focus on the trial."
Ian waved his hand as he never thought Carl would apologize anyway. Rather than wasting his time for nothing, he decided to focus on the important matter at hand. Moreover, a wise person should end the fight when clearly winning, shouldn't he?
After Ian said those words, he completely ignored Carl as he made his way to the front, intending to see what the inside of the Ignisia Tower was like.
"Tch..."
Seeing his magnanimous look, Carl was so annoyed that he now hated his impulsive behavior. He wasn't the one who was good at talking.
When he looked at Aurora, who seemed fine and didn't appear concerned about Ian embracing her before, he felt even more hurt.
All that rage for nothing, and he had nowhere to vent.
'Just wait...'
He could only suppress his rage inside while acting like nothing had happened on the outside.
"Are you feeling alright?"
He still didn't forget to ask Aurora, hoping to see if she would complain about Ian.
"Um..."
But all he got in return was a brief nod from Aurora, who seemed to be lost in her own thoughts.
"What could happen to us? It was just a simple spell anyway. Haha, but are you alright? You seem to be irritated by something."
However, Henry didn't read the situation and began to ask Carl in return, forgetting his disgraceful landing earlier.
"I am alright too," Carl said with a fake smile as his intention to start a conversation with Aurora failed before it even began.
While Henry occupied Carl with his cheerful talking, Ian had already arrived at the front of the platform with Lyra. This time, although the teleportation was a short-distance one, many people were still feeling dizzy, so he had plenty of time to look around.
"Hmm, mana concentration has increased significantly," Ian commented after absorbing the mana into his body.
"Yeah, if I practice here, I might become a second-class Wizard apprentice in no time," Lyra nodded in a good mood as she also felt the changes.
"Um, but it might take longer since your affinity is water. The mana here seems to be mixed with the fire element," Ian said after analyzing the mana he had just absorbed.
Since this tower was built using a fire-type evil dragon, it made sense that fire elements were abundant. In fact, Ian could see that the inner wall of the entire chamber was made of obsidian, shimmering with red energy as if burning continuously.
However, although it was the first floor of the tower, he still couldn't see its ceiling as it was completely covered in fog. He might be able to see further in his Ethereal form, but he didn't bother to do so.
Instead, he set his sight on the multiple paths ahead that were engraved with complex runes on the sides, shimmering with a beautiful glow. There were as many as dozens of paths visible to Ian's eyes, covered with sizzling fiery mana, their destinations unknown.
As far as Ian knew, the Ignisia Trial wasn't a standard trial testing candidates with vigorous tests and rewarding them afterward, at least not on the first floor.
At the lowest level, it was just a way to give the chosen people some resources to start them on the wizard path. After all, unlike Ian, Lyra, and Carl, everyone here wasn't an apprentice, so what kind of Wizard trial would they go to?
Moreover, even if they weren't able to become wizard apprentices, their Knight realm would surely increase exponentially.
In fact, some of them were here just for that and would likely leave afterward. So, this trial could be considered a test of luck, truly an early benefit for the original protagonist.
"Ian, do you still have that gem I gave you earlier?"
When Ian was about to think about the plot and how he could benefit from it, he heard Lyra softly asking him about the Runeheart Stone she had given him before.
"Yeah, I have it,"
Ian nodded and took out the gem from his mana ring. It was about half the size of a fist, lavender in color, with intricate red patterns that seemed chaotic.
This was a protective wizard artifact Lyra had given him when he was about to leave for the expedition.
Lyra also had another one of these with her. If he remembered correctly, Lyra had said she would tell him how she got them if he passed the Ignisia Trial.
And hadn't he received a Quest corresponding to it? Ian tried to recall it when a blue panel appeared in his mind.
[Intermediate Quest 1: Whispers of the Runeheart Stone]
[Content Target: ??]
[Reward: ??]
[Note: Eligible. Do you want to activate it?]
'My first Intermediate Quest, and now it seems I am eligible,' Ian thought.
This might be because he had captured Lyra, completing the Basic Quest and unlocking the Intermediate Quest requirements.
"Yeah, this one," Lyra nodded with a smile while taking out her own gem from her mana ring, as both Runestones looked exactly the same.
"Does she want to talk about it?"
Ian thought while looking at the beaming smile on Lyra, finding it reasonable. That was because the place they were going to next, through those paths, was filled with inheritances left by the ancient wizards.