Tower of Heaven

He approached them with a level of confidence. Perhaps it was a show to make them believe he was more powerful or perhaps it was because he truly was that confident in himself.

Nevertheless, there was already no conversation between the groups. They were competitors to the core. Whether there was one more Atlas or not didn't matter to them.

'After all, I am not a threat in their eyes.'

What kind of self-respecting Earth Sage would ever consider a Core Formation Realm practitioner as competition?

It worked out well for Atlas, but unlike the quiet people from Sky Garden and the warriors from Euryale, the group from Dusk took more interest in his existence.

"How did you manage to get this far?"

A man approached him. The rest of his group didn't follow, but they were watching the interaction with amusement in their eyes.

"I got lucky," Atlas responded, trying to avoid trouble.

"Oh yeah? But luck won't do you any good past this point. It might be better for you to stay back."

The man's words seemed helpful, but they were laced with contempt and mockery. Rather than helping words, they were demeaning words meant to put Atlas below him.

However, Atlas was not willing to yield so easily.

"I will do just fine on my own. There is no need for you to worry about me."

He said it calmly, but his demeanor was still a problem.

'Why is he unfazed?'

See, the man in front of him wasn't just anybody. When it came to Dusk, his name was one that could not be ignored.

Akia Cinder. If there was a younger generation genius that Dusk focused on more than anyone else, it was him.

Yet, not only did this small cultivator not know him, but he was acting like he was nothing?

Akia wasn't the kind of person to resort to a fight at any small disagreement, but he took his pride and status seriously.

"Hmph."

He clicked his tongue.

"Do whatever you want, but don't blame us when you die a horrible death."

He had no plans to do anything immediately. Clearing the tomb and finding the hidden piece was more important.

However, when they were deeper into the area, there was no telling what would happen.

Atlas sighed as he watched the man leave.

'Originally, he was planning to test me.'

He could tell by the gazes of the man's compatriots. He came over to see if Atlas was worth anything. His response seemed to change the man's plan. Whoever he was, he was definitely a hot-blooded youngster.

'To think that even in the current era, such a thing is possible. The people I have met have been so intelligent that I believed these specimens had been mostly eradicated.'

But, in a world of cultivators, they were like roaches.

The people who liked to be offended, the people who went around looking for people to offend them so they could fight.

Atlas didn't have to do anything. At this point, he was just being used as a tool in that person's fantasy.

'And that…is a thought that I do not appreciate.'

Everyone focused their attention on the door, but Atlas and Akia weren't the only ones secretly making plans in their minds.

Since none of those plans held value until the door was opened, it naturally came first.

The surface of the door itself was covered in keyholes, most of which had already been filled. There looked to be a few hundred slots total, which was more than he'd collected, but the other three groups left only fifty spots to fill.

'Was there a maximum limit for the number of keys that could be possessed by one group?'

Regardless, it was true that Atlas had enough keys to fill in the last few slots. There wasn't a need to wait for more people to gather.

Atlas walked through the three groups under their gazes and did his part. He pulled out key after key, matching them to the keyholes and turning them as if to unlock a door.

By the time all fifty were filled, certain people's opinions of him had changed, but that was a matter to be discussed another time.

As the final key entered its place, the door was enveloped in a subtle aura.

Rumble!

The ground shook. The massive object moved on its own, revealing a path forward.

Atlas walked into it without a problem and looked at those on the other side.

Akia did the same, as did a man and a woman from Euryale and Sky Garden respectively.

Those they brought along with them…

Thump!

…they struck a barrier where the door once stood.

"Oi, what is this?!"

Akia stepped forward and tried to touch it, but the barrier that kept the rest of them out was nonexistent for him.

"I see…" the woman from Sky Garden muttered loud enough for everyone to hear.

"You know what happened, Selia?" Akia asked, turning to her.

"Indeed. According to my observations, only those who entered keys into the door are allowed to move past it. As we were the ones to personally enter every key, we are the only ones who could pass."

The method almost looked like it was meant to allow hundreds to pass, but the owner of this tomb had to be an idiot if he believed that would happen. In the end, a few geniuses who were better than the rest were always going to pass this door, and the tomb owner's understanding of this was hidden within the trial itself.

"We are approaching the end of this floor's trial. It makes more sense for us to leave the others behind."

The woman, Selia, nodded at her companions, a subtle order telling them to wait.

The others agreed in their own ways and did the same. This unlikely group of four, of which Atlas was mostly left forgotten, found themselves traveling the tomb's corridors together while leaving their support behind.

They did not face anything but silence when they first started walking. As if to make them wary of everything, wary of each other, the dark and silent corridor was only given life by the subtle ringing in their ears.

'They are correct. We must be approaching the end now.'

This was a tomb expedition transformed into a floor trial. It would not take years and years to complete like its counterpart in life. Considering that they went through the parts of the tomb where they had to prove themselves in mind and body, they had to be nearing the place where the final treasures were hidden.

'Are the four of us the only contenders?'

That was impossible. Atlas was certain after spending some time with him that Horus would make it to the very end.

'If that is true, and there are still several other corridors where people are fighting to be the final winner…'

…then the current trial could have only one victor…

'...and that victor must be me.'

Atlas firmed himself. By now, the others likely understood the same thing. It was still too early for them to turn on each other when they didn't understand what the trial was going to throw at them, but that moment was fated to come.

It only remained a question of who would be able to take advantage of it first.