The inheritance trial on the first floor of the Ignisia Tower consisted of tall pedestals surrounded by intricate array mechanisms. Once a person passed the trial, they could claim a Wizard inheritance by climbing to the top.
To be honest, Ian felt that this type of inheritance seemed quite lackluster. However, for someone who wasn't even a Wizard Apprentice, these inheritances were indeed a valuable opportunity.
But Ian wanted more than that. He wanted a true Wizard inheritance, and he knew exactly where to find it.
"Only three inheritance halls, huh."
It didn't take long for Ian to arrive at the center, where he saw three large halls surrounded by tall pedestals. From the look on top of them, most of the inheritances in this area had already been claimed.
However, unlike the pillars that remained standing even when empty, the inheritance halls were different.
As long as an inheritance remained, the hall would exist. This meant that there were still three First-Ring Wizard Inheritances waiting for the right inheritor.
"Let's enter immediately."
Ian muttered while retrieving the Flame Heart Sigil from his mana ring as there was nothing noteworthy about the inheritance hall from outside.
"Swoosh!"
As soon as the token, crafted from Ignisium, appeared in Ian's hand, one of the inheritance halls in front of him glowed with red color, and a stream of mana shot out from the sigil in his hands.
"Click!"
With the connection seemingly established, Ian watched as the door to one of the inheritance halls opened slowly, revealing a dark interior leading to an unknown destination.
Seeing that the token in his hand was still responding to the entrance, Ian wasted no time and entered through the door without a hint of hesitation, his expression was calm as he knew what awaited him.
"Bang!"
Once Ian disappeared into the darkness, the door closed automatically, as if to prevent entry by unauthorized individuals.
...
Darkness.
After Ian entered the inheritance hall, what he saw was only the darkness in front of him and nothing else.
However, it wasn't the normal darkness Ian was used to in his daily life but a pitch-black void, since Ian couldn't even use his mental power to scan where he was and couldn't use mana and Life Energy inside his body.
Even seeing his own finger was impossible.
The only thing Ian could do was hear his own heartbeat, which was pulsating continuously, reminding him that he was alive.
'This must be how bone-chilling darkness feels like.'
Ian thought while looking at nothing in front of him with no anxiousness on his face. It wasn't just because he already knew beforehand about this inexplicable test but also because he felt this much was nothing for him.
In fact, Ian wanted to see if using the Ethereal Form could allow him to directly see through this darkness, as he found that he could use it if he wanted to in this condition.
However, considering this was a place of inheritance, he reined in his thoughts, at least for now.
As Ian closed his eyes and rested his mind, time passed bit by bit. Since the darkness had already engulfed every sense, it was quite hard to track time, making this experience even scarier.
After all, human beings were always afraid of the unknown, and that hadn't changed even after he transmigrated into this world.
Ian didn't know how much time had passed since he stood rooted in his position, closing his eyes, but finally, a ray of light pierced through the pitch-black darkness, lighting up his surroundings bit by bit, slowly.
"Hah, finally passed."
Ian mumbled after feeling the light appear again in his vision. Really, without strong mental power, he shouldn't have been able to pass this test.
<Test of Willpower: Passed!>
And with the light came a neutral voice commending his willpower.
Finally, Ian once again saw that he was in a corridor just like the one he had entered before, but the entry and exit were covered with mist leaving him no retreat.
"Swoosh!"
However, before he could ascertain his situation, a huge structure suddenly jumped out from below the ground right in front of him almost catching him off guard.
The structure that suddenly appeared was crafted from smooth stone and reinforced with metal plates, surrounded by complex runic lines flowing with mana.
Although the entity in front of him was just a product formed by a Wizard, Ian could feel from the pressure that it was quite strong, unlike anything he had encountered before.
"A Golem."
"Swoosh!"
However, Ian was surprised to find that it wasn't alone, as more and more Golems sprung forth from the ground, surrounding him in the middle, as if not giving him a chance to retreat.
'Heh, pretty interesting just for a Basic Destiny Quest, isn't it?'
Ian who was surprised by the sudden turn of events mumbled in annoyance, as he didn't remember Carl getting surrounded by dozens of Golems, that too as strong as him, in a narrow corridor.
Why, when it was his turn, everything became so difficult? Was it because he was a Passerby Villain and not a protagonist?
The test completely changed and the difficulties also increased exponentially.
'Was it really luck or is someone dissatisfied with me?'
Ian wasn't a fool. Unlike the pedestals outside carrying Wizard inheritances with mechanical set rules, this inheritance hall was different, as it had spirits.
And this specific hall had the spirit of a dead Wizard, Dornar Claywright. Thus, this test depended entirely on his whim.
'Let's see what he has up his sleeve. Do you think this mere Golems can stop me?'
Ian thought with cold eyes while taking out multiple pills from his mana ring and stuffing them inside his mouth.
[Mana Infusion Pill: A basic pill produced by an Alchemist Wizard that can replenish mana reserves in a short period of time.]
Although Ian didn't get any potions inside the two inheritances of an Alchemist, he did find a few bottles of these basic pills that could restore his mana, which now came in handy.
"Scrchh..."
"Boom!"