Truth Behind the Trials

"Thank god, I thought you were going to make me go through one hundred trials" Bruce let out a sigh of relief.

"You shouldn't celebrate just yet because you will most likely die in this trial" Aegon's tone turned grim.

Aegon teleported Bruce to a city in the realm. Bruce looked around and found the city to be similar to the city of rebirth.

At the center of the city, there was a statue of a dragon. Underneath the statue, a name was carved.

Lord Asgorath, The God of Dragons

"Let me give you the background of the trial before we get started" Aegon kneeled in front of the statue and began to narrate.

"Lord Asgorath was the Dragon God of the universe. All dragons in the universe descended from his bloodline"

"Like many other powerful gods in the universe, his lifespan was also limited"

"During the final years of his life, he commanded his closest descendants to protect his legacy"

"When Lord Asgorath died, his descendants betrayed his order and fought against each other for his legacy"

"The dragons began to slowly become extinct as they wage war on their own race for the possession of Lord Asgorath's legacy"

"Lord Asgorath foresaw this and tasked my grandfather to protect a part of his legacy before he died"

"My entire race's purpose was to guard the legacy until the chosen one arrives and passes the trial created by Lord Asgorath"

"The race that won the war between the dragons was the lightning dragon race"

"Their leader has already reached the realm of the gods. He also found out that the legacy in his hand was fake 500,00 years ago. That's when the tragedy fell on my people" Aegon's tears dropped.

"As you can see, my race was reduced down to a few hundred dragons. Originally, we had hundreds of thousands of dragons"

"My family was killed in cold blood by the Lightning Dragon God. My grandfather did his best to hold him off before sending the entire realm away to the Nether Realm for refuge"

"I was forced to make a deal with the ruler of the Nether Realm to provide his army with weapons made from the bodies of my people"

"Only the ruler of the Nether Realm could contend against the Lightning Dragon God"

"Thankfully, only a few dragons know about Lord Asgorath's legacy. The exception to that would be you, Bruce Stellae'

"I accepted the deal with the ruler of the Nether Realm and threw away my pride as a dragon"

"My only conditions to him were to provide refuge for my people and to let someone from the Nether Realm attempt to inherit my legacy"

"He didn't think much about the condition and accepted it"

Bruce felt touched knowing that Aegon revealed his race's secret to him. He also felt nothing but fury against the lightning dragons. How could they kill their own brethren?

"Bruce, you're the only person in hundreds of thousands of years who managed to reach this far"

"The trials that I have given you are meant to prepare you for the real trial given to you by Lord Asgorath himself!"

'Wait, what the hell! Everything so far was fake?' Bruce was disappointed but he didn't hold anything against Aegon. Bruce was certain that he would die if he took the Dragon's God trial in his original state.

"I will now reveal to you the trial to inherit the legacy of Lord Asgorath"

Aegon dropped his blood beneath the statue and send out boundless energy to activate the mechanisms.

Bruce gasped when he witnessed the might of a Worldly Supreme expert for the first time. The entire world belonged to him and only him. All the energy from the realm flew into the statue and a path was opened.

Bruce bowed to Aegon and walked toward the path. He felt his entire existence disappear when he entered. He tried his best to stay conscious, but it was not possible.

After an unknown amount of time, Bruce woke up. He found himself to be in a place that he had seen many times in his dreams, the center of the universe.

"So, you are the one chosen by my descendants" A powerful dignified voice appeared.

When he looked in the direction of the voice, Bruce was stunned.

A dragon was so large that it could cover several planets was staring at him. The scales of the dragon would make any attack useless. Looking at the giant golden eyes staring at him, Bruce felt like an ant in front of a god.

Bruce calmed down his nerves because he wasn't facing the real Dragon God. The figure in front of him was merely what was left of his soul.

"Hello, my name is Bruce Stellae, and I am here to inherit your legacy"

"Stellae… I don't recall any clan with that name" Asgorath spoke out his thoughts. Anyone who is qualified to inherit his legacy should come from a powerful background.

"Ahem… Lord Asgorath, the Stellae family is still working on its branding" Bruce slightly coughed.

"Well, it doesn't matter"

"If you want to inherit my legacy, you must pass my trial"

"Should you fail, you will die"

'This is definitely Déjà vu' Bruce thought to himself.

"My trial is very simple"

'It's definitely not' Bruce couldn't understand why these dragons keep thinking their trials were simple. He had to jump through loops to pass the trials!

"Dragons are among the most powerful beings in the universe"

"Yet, I have been defeated many times in the past before I reached godhood"

"The only way I could achieve godhood was to accomplish the impossible"

"Therefore, my successor must be able to accomplish the impossible as well"

The eyes of Asgorath shined and both of them were teleported to the location of the trial. It was a battlefield with chaotic energy. Bruce didn't think it was a good idea to cultivate in this environment. His body could possibly turn berserk.

"I have created mirror copies of the people who have defeated me in the past"

"Worry not, I also calibrated their strengths to be matching to yours"

'Thank god' Bruce let out a sigh of relief.

"As you defeat the enemies, the new enemies will become even stronger"

"All of them are among the mightiest beings in the universe"

"It should be impossible for you to defeat all of them"

'Motherfucker. I knew I shouldn't trust these dragons when they say that their trial is simple' Bruce cursed.

"Make your way to the top and achieve the impossible feat by defeating the gods of the universe"

Asgorath disappeared leaving Bruce alone on the battlefield with an annoyed expression.

"After this trial, I'll be taking a break from taking any more trials" Bruce muttered to himself.

Suddenly, Bruce was teleported to an inn in a city. Weirdly enough, no one was in the city

Bruce walked around the city and a dagger appeared in thin air aiming at his neck. Bruce dodged the dagger and looked at its owner.

A masked female with black clothing. She looked like an assassin. The dagger in her hand had a very unique shape. Thankfully, she was at Peak Stage Divine King.

Bruce thought this was going to be an easy match, but he was wrong. The female disappeared from his sight immediately. He couldn't believe that he lost track of her.

He cautiously placed a protective barrier around himself and put on his new pair of gauntlets. He didn't hear a single sound from his surroundings. He predicted that the female won't strike unless he shows her an opening.

She knew that she was no match for him, so she chose this method. Nevertheless, Bruce had never seen anyone master the Darkness Element to her level. Even he was not at her level.

Bruce activated Vermillion Fusion and intentionally left himself open for an attack. As soon as he had an opening, he saw the dagger pointed directly at his heart. Bruce quickly caught the dagger and easily destroyed it.

He then aimed his fist at her head. However, a needle flew out of her hand which Bruce barely dodged. Thankfully, Bruce managed to kill her before she did anything else.

Bruce couldn't help but got cold sweat after the battle. If he didn't power up from Aegon's training, he would have died in the fight. He hoped that the assassins back in his world were not at her level, otherwise, he would die at their hands eventually.

Bruce recuperated his strength and his environment changed again. This time, he was inside a volcano.

A handsome young man met his gaze. In his hand was a fire spirit that could burn anything in the universe.

Looking at his opponent, Bruce only had one question.

"Hey friend, are you a BBQ connoisseur like me as well?"