Birth of the Demonic Sword

All the inscription masters inside the pyramid gathered to inspect the six pieces of Great Builder's inheritance. There had to be something in the books that could lead to the expert's resurrection, and they had to find it to take care of the rank 9 threats in the human domain.

Noah, King Elbas, Pearl, her companions from the Balrow family, and one expert in Luke's team met in one of the empty rooms to review the six books. Most of them took a while to understand their contents. Still, Noah and those who had already accomplished something in that field didn't hold back their explanations.

"We know that the entire pyramid is a huge workshop," Pearl said after everyone had committed the contents of the six books to memory. "We also know that it contains countless valuable materials. This can't be a case."

"We explored the entire pyramid," Paul, the expert from Luke's group, replied. "I didn't see anything capable of activating something so massive."

"The trigger must be inside the secret chamber," King Elbas explained. "The problem is that neither of us is up for the task. I might be arrogant, but I can only dream about building something in the ninth rank."

"The pyramid must have multiple methods to trigger the procedure," Noah added. "I don't see a rank 9 expert relying on random contestants for his resurrection. We wouldn't even think about doing it if it weren't for Radiant Eyes."

"What are you implying?" Pearl asked. "Do you think that the resurrection will start on its own even if we don't do anything?"

"It would make sense," Noah continued. "I would never put the greatest achievement of my life in the hands of some strangers. Great Builder must have created a failsafe or something similar."

"That only makes the situation scarier," One of Pearl's companions said. "An expert at that level would normally start the procedure right away, but Great Builder is giving us the chance to complete it on our own. I don't know. It feels like a secret trial."

"What would the purpose of the trial even be?" Paul asked. "We cleared the entire pyramid. We are worthy of his inheritance. I don't understand why Great Builder would add this last hindrance."

"Did anyone try to leave the pyramid?" Noah asked before the experts could fall silent.

"Of course not," Pearl replied. "We don't know how far Radiant Eyes' consciousness can reach. The pyramid is covering our presence, so no one can leave the structure until Great Builder comes back."

"What do you have in mind?" King Elbas asked.

"I'll send one of my magical beasts outside," Noah sighed. "We will know if my guess is right soon enough."

Noah contacted Fergie and told him his plan. The expert ordered one of the rank 7 magical beasts to leave the pyramid, but the creature found the exit sealed.

Fergie tried to do the same for all the exits on the other layers, and he even tested the secret doors hidden under trapdoors and similar passages. Neither of them gave his underlings the chance to leave. The pyramid had trapped all of them.

"It should be as I feared," Noah explained after hearing Fergie's report. "We might be a core part of the second approach to the resurrection. The pyramid might sacrifice us to bring Great Builder back to life."

His revelation made sense, but that only caused his companions to worry. They couldn't help but feel that their efforts had been in vain. After all, they had struggled to explore one of the most dangerous places in the entire human domain only to end up in a trap.

"A trial doesn't only lead to death," King Elbas suddenly announced and forced the other experts to suppress their complaints. "Great Builder has never been stingy on rewards. I bet that this last test will also give something great."

"What can this madman even offer us at this point?!" Pearl shouted to express her anger. "We have been in this place for entire years already. We have enough resources and techniques to build a force capable of taking down the entire human domain. What else can we even desire?!"

The experts fell silent, and King Elbas did the same. He didn't have the answer to that question. He couldn't understand what else he could desire either.

"You will get to see the path," Noah eventually revealed. "The pyramid will give us the chance to create a rank 9 item if we are right about this. This experience is worth more than any resource."

Noah couldn't be sure about that, but his words made perfect sense. Rank 8 existences could survive without resources and techniques, but they wouldn't be able to advance without understanding their path.

Great Builder wanted to give that to his contestant. He desired to teach them about the path toward the ninth rank. Noah had no idea how the expert planned to do it, but he couldn't wait to find out.

"It's pointless to hesitate," Noah sighed before standing up. "Let's take this matter directly to Great Builder. I hope he will tell us what to do."

King Elbas' eyes lit up before he nodded toward Noah. Pearl and her companions did the same once they understood what Noah was talking about.

It was time to bring the matter to the only expert who could give them proper answers. Noah and the others had to go inside the secret chamber and hear what the aura had to say about the whole situation.

King Elbas and Pearl decided to follow Noah on his trip toward the secret area. The army saw them walking by, but no one replied to the growing concern.

Fergie didn't withhold information. He had told Wilfred and the others about the sealed exits. It was only normal for the various underlings and experts to feel scared about that problem.

An intense pressure fell on Noah, King Elbas, and Pearl when the trio entered the secret chamber. The scenery was identical to Noah's last visit, except for the lack of items outside of the invisible barriers.

The aura of the pyramid conveyed its feelings before Noah could ask any question. A current of information suddenly flowed in the trio's mind and made them aware of Great Builder's actual plan.

At first, the aura confirmed Noah's worries. The pyramid was ready to take his life and turn every contestant into materials for Great Builder's resurrection.

Then, it began to describe other approaches. Some of them even saw the pyramid branding the army and sending it to the outside world to gather more resources.

In the end, the pyramid explained the first method. It told Noah and the others how they could activate the massive workshop and find all the resources they needed.

The rewards offered by the pyramid for the first method surpassed Noah's imagination. The structure wouldn't only show his army how to reach the ninth rank. It would also guide them through the various breakthroughs that they had yet to face.

The pyramid even explained why it couldn't start the procedure right away. It turned out that the method was far from perfect due to the lack of proper inscription masters. The structure couldn't recreate Great Builder in its best form. It would forsake its master's harmony without actual experts helping in the process.