I Am Alive

[BOOM!]

An enormous explosion engulfed the space!

The hot flames madly devoured everything on their path as icicles weren't an exception.

The temperature reached over 1000 C° and ice spears had no chance of withstanding it.

Meanwhile, at the epicenter of the explosion, Andrew lifelessly floated as flames ravaged his body. 

Unfortunately, those flames were too powerful for Andrew to control, meaning they could harm him too. 

He already had lost consciousness the moment he executed this suicide spell.

It took all the remaining willpower and mana in him to cast it.

His previously vibrant soul domain became emptier as the brilliance of his soul core went to the bottom. It slowly spun, sending out weak pulses of mental energy that could do nothing at this point.

Outside his body, hot flames instantly incinerated his clothes as they went for his body. 

The skin offered almost no resistance as it was eaten up in flames in just a couple of seconds.

Andrew's muscles were revealed to the world as someone with a keen eye could spot countless small injuries all over his body.

He looked like a collapsing card house...

The flames were merciless in their cause as they soon turned Andrew's painstakingly refined muscles into nothingness.

The flames burnt him layer by layer...

Now, it was time for his vitals to be burnt to ashes.

Yet, at this moment...

An oppressive aura descended as the flames were instantly snuffed out of existence! 

A figure appeared out of nowhere as they approached the half-burnt corpse.

It was none other than Lilian Ezgard, the headmaster of Sapphire Tower!

She put her hand on Andrew's literal skull as pure white light glowed under her palm.

The charred organs were slowly healed as numerous muscle tissues were recreated to their original state. Then, Andrew finally regained his skin as his breathing returned and he peacefully slumbered while floating in the dark void.

Lilian watched him with emotionless eyes for a while, still amazed by the fact that Andrew managed to pass the [Impossible Trial]...

Of course, the trial was tuned to the strength of Initial Apprentice Mage. Anyone above that would have no trouble passing this trial as long as they had their brain in the right place.

Lilian engulfed Andrew in her mana sense as they warped to a special location within Demonic Abode.

___

[The Land of Frozen]

Lilian's and Andrew's figures appeared above the airspace of Sapphire Tower.

As its name suggested, it was a massive tower-like building that was entirely sapphire in color.

It towered well over 300 meters and was 50 meters in width. 

Lilian observed her domain with her mana sense, making sure that nothing was amiss since anything could happen in the life of a mage, especially of an influential one. She had far too many enemies to consider relaxation.

Then, she looked over at Andrew's peacefully slumbering expression. 

He was still asleep even though his mental energy reserves were fully replenished.

Lilian didn't like wasting time as she sent her mana sense directly into his soul domain. She didn't condense her mana sense since a light contact with the borders of the soul domain would be more than enough to jolt Andrew awake.

As expected, Andrew shot his eyes wide open the moment Lilian's soul sense touched the barrier of his soul domain. 

He swiftly unruffled his mana sense as his instincts screamed about imminent danger!

But he forgot to adhere to a crucial etiquette among mages in magic society.

Unruffling mana sense in the presence of another mage was considered incredibly rude as it would look like that individual was trying to physically and mentally pry open the other party.

But Lillian had a protective magical item which created a bubble that didn't let Andrew's mana sense come near her.

A frown appeared on her face but she didn't create a fuss out of it since she knew the reason behind this.

Andrew slowly regained himself as the memories of recent events flowed in.

"I am alive" he muttered...

"I am alive!" he repeated triumphantly while being happy because his plan succeed!

He managed to get out of the dead end by pulling a suicide move!

He even got flashbacks of his both lives seconds before he lost consciousness.

He tightly clenched his fists as he truly thought that it would be the end of his story...

'It seems fate has other plans for me' he joked in his mind as a victorious smile crept upon his face.

Andrew raised his head to look at the powerful figure who made him go through all of this. He didn't resent her at all since he managed to improve his skills regarding the application of runes and magic under such stressing situation.

He bowed down as he said the next lines:

"Thank you Miss Lilian Ezgard for gifting me such an opportunity. Regardless of whether I passed the trial or not, I would like to keep a friendly relationship with you" Andrew didn't really know the results of the trial.

He suspected that he would not be accepted due to the fact that he lost consciousness amidst a battle.

Yet, he wanted to form a connection with an affluent figure such as Lilian Ezgard.

Lilian just emotionlessly watched him, not having even a slightest change of expression.

Andrew's sweet and earnest words were nothing more than overused cliche lines in her long life since Andrew wasn't the only one who wanted to get onto her good side.

'Cunning and collected even after he faced death' she concluded as she was immensely satisfied with the fact that Andrew managed to surpass her expectations.

"Andrew, would you like to join Sapphire Tower as my direct disciple?" Lilian asked.

Without much thought, Andrew instantly replied with a confident "Yes!".

"Then, from henceforth you entered into the vicious race for power" Lilian added with a sinister tone as they warped into Sapphire Tower.