Sovereign of the Ashes
Chapter 1165: Hostility

Chapter 1165: Hostility

The knowledge alone would benefit Sein for the rest of his life, and the treasure he received was utterly irresistible.

According to Master Jorces, the Faceless Mask ranked as a mid-tier world‑class secret treasure.

Jorces had touched on the art of forging such artifacts in his legacy, and this mask was the crowning achievement of his life.

But crafting pieces of that caliber was far beyond what Sein could handle right now.

The Rank Five and above advanced knowledge and truths sealed inside the mask were nice to own, but dangerous to try too early, as they might lead him astray.

The way of truth should be walked one step at a time.

A world‑class secret treasure was so rare that even a Rank Six powerhouse in the Magus World might never lay hands on one.

The fact that Jorces forged one, especially a medium‑grade piece, proved his mastery beyond doubt.

Sein doubted that even Master Lorianne... or even Grandmaster Feylis, owned anything remotely comparable.

The two green arm ribbons Tourmaline carried were world‑class treasures too, but Sein had no idea whether they were superior or inferior to the Faceless Mask.

For now, he lacked the means to study artifacts of this caliber.

Jorces had also explained that while his legacy secret realm was restricted to those below demigod level, the mask itself would only begin to reveal its true power once its bearer reached Rank Four.

Even then, a Rank Four being would still struggle to fully wield this medium world‑class secret treasure.

In resource‑poor large worlds, a treasure like this could even draw the attention of overlord‑class entities. NovelFire

After all, world‑class treasures were far from mere “toys” even to those beings. In fact, only artifacts of this caliber were worthy of their status and strength.

Perhaps out of concern for a junior, or thanks to its sentience, the mask remained “sealed”, granting only a fraction of its abilities to Sein while he remained a demigod.

Both Jorces’s notes and Sein’s own tests confirmed the same thing: the mask would not fully awaken until he reached Rank Five.

Even so, its current power had already left him stunned.

Compared to the Faceless Mask, the Demon Eye Mask he had spent years refining was not even one percent as powerful.

Unable to resist, Sein removed the Demon Eye Mask and placed the Faceless Mask over his face.

The instant the new mask touched his skin, a whole new world opened up before him.

***

Wearing the Faceless Mask, Sein stepped out of the secret realm.

The legacy secret realm itself did not vanish; Master Jorces had simply passed his most prized knowledge and the mask to Sein.

The structure he built remained behind as a lasting gift for future Magus World trialists.

Jorces had poured his entire life’s fortune into that legacy secret realm.

Though Sein did not claim those riches, he still walked away with the master’s greatest legacy.

Any trialists who arrived later could still collect the rewards of the first nine floors, but not the final prize that had already been claimed by him.

Outside the secret realm, an endless green plain stretched into the distance.

A colossal stone platform appeared beneath him, and nearby, Sein spotted many familiar faces—including Grimm and Leena.

Most of those who had reached the tenth floor were still stuck here.

Over a hundred people had gathered, more than half of them Rank Three grand mages, with a handful of demigods scattered among them.

It was a rare concentration of power in one place.

From the looks on their faces, Sein figured these were the trialists the legacy secret realm had rejected.

For reasons of their own, they had chosen to linger around.

Thanks to the Faceless Mask, Sein appeared to be just another Rank Three mage, even though he was nearly at the peak of demigodhood.

The mask perfectly suppressed his energy and concealed the pressure of his law power.

Even its own brilliance was hidden, making it look like an ordinary mask instead of a mid-tier world‑class secret treasure.

Unless Sein revealed it himself, no one would guess its true nature. NovelFire

“You’re finally here. We’ve waited decades for you,” someone called.

It was Haywood, the demigod‑level mechanic, glaring up at Sein with his one good eye as he hovered in midair.

“You switched masks? Or is that the final reward you got? And your aura...” he trailed off, narrowing his gaze.

Haywood never really figured out what had happened to Sein or anything about the Faceless Mask.

To him, the only noticeable difference after all these years was the unfamiliar mask, which had immediately stirred his suspicion.

“Only a few decades passed, huh?” Sein mumbled with a sigh.

He had spent at least five centuries inside the legacy secret realm, yet only a few decades had passed here in the Knight Continent.

The time‑flow difference between this place and the rest of Magus World was downright absurd.

Sein had no good impression of the loud mechanic and ignored his questions.

Instead, he had a quick chat with Leena and learned he had been gone for exactly fifty‑one years.

During that span, one trialist after another had been ejected from the secret realm just like Leena.

Grimm had been the most recent to emerge.

When Grimm was eliminated, the outside of the secret realm changed drastically.

This massive stone platform appeared, and a pillar of blazing lumen energy shot into the sky.

Many near this legacy secret realm noticed the commotion. Almost every eliminated trialist chose to stay behind, hoping to see who would walk out with the grand prize.

But judging by the waves of disappointment spreading through the crowd, they did not see what they expected.

The Faceless Mask had suppressed Sein’s aura so much that he felt even weaker than Grimm.

Still, Haywood’s words caused greed to swell in their hearts.

While Sein and Leena continued their silent exchange via mental focus, a sharp voice cut through the air.

It came from a late‑stage Rank Three grand mage. Judging from the bone rod in his hand, it was clear that he was a Necromancer from Magus World.

“Any treasure in the Knight Continent’s secret realm belongs to whoever can hold on to it. Before we entered, they told us that competition was fair game, even if someone ends up dead,” he said coolly.

He sneered coldly and added, “I think I’m more qualified than you to claim the final reward. If that mask is it, hand it over now and save us the trouble of taking it.”

The Necromancer’s words clearly struck a chord with most of the mages nearby.

As soon as he finished, more Rank Three mages began closing in with greed shining in their eyes.

Among them were nearly a dozen demigod-level mages.

Haywood, the mechanic Sein disliked, only chuckled mischievously.

But like the other demigods who had made it to the final level of the trial, he was smart enough to keep his distance.

At the very least, he knew Sein carried a crazy powerful magic rod set with two heart cores of Rank Four beings.

Even if he had swapped masks, Sein still had the Demon Eye Mask—another powerful artifact infused with a Rank Four heart core.

With the final prize now in his hands, even Haywood or Berold might not be able to bring Sein down.

Surely, these ordinary Rank Threes mages had no chance.

Haywood simply folded his arms and watched, like he was settling in for a show.

Berold, the gold-robed mage from the Marmett Union, remained as well, watching quietly from the sidelines.

He was not hoping to see Sein make a fool of himself—he was simply curious about what Sein had actually obtained in that secret realm.

Only Leena reacted. At the Necromancer’s threat, she immediately flew to Sein’s side.

Grimm, an old friend of Sein’s, followed suit, standing with him against the greedy crowd.

Sein could not deny that mages were a self‑centered bunch. Most were obsessed with their own research and rarely gave a damn about others.

It was already obvious in the Magus Alliance’s structure that mages in the Magus World were not the charitable type, and they certainly would not go out of their way to help or support the weak and vulnerable.

Here on the Knight Continent, where rules blurred, it was not surprising that most would try their luck if a treasure appeared, regardless of whether they had the power to claim it.

Honestly, if the roles were reversed, Sein might have thought the same way.

In this world, wealth and power always flowed toward the strong.

The alliance and the divine towers merely gave the weak enough room to survive, but never enough to act freely.

After calming Leena down, Sein flew forward.

The Faceless Mask suppressed his aura so thoroughly that even those hostile mages sensed nothing strange.

Still, a few sharp-eyed Rank Threes and demigods started to pick up on something.

If Sein were truly just another Rank Three grand mage, why could they not see his true face beneath the mask?

And why was he unnaturally calm?

Demigod-level mages like Haywood had already backed away long ago.

Sein smiled at the Necromancer and the other trialists and asked, “So... you all want my mask?”