Born In Ashes: The Enigma

[Task — Learn the Cosmic Energy Breathing Method and raise it to mid level before your Awakening.]

(Reward for successfully completing the task — One Despair-Level Token of Eonrift, 100 Task Points)

Azrael's expression didn't change when the notifications flashed before his eyes. He silently glanced at Lia, observing her face for any sign of change.

'It seems she can't see these prompts that are flashing before my eyes...' Azrael thought quietly as he walked toward one of the rooms located at the side of the wide training field.

Lia followed after him and reminded him in a serious tone, "Young Lord, please keep the density of the energy within the chamber at a controllable range. If you increase it too much, your body won't be able to handle it."

"Don't worry, I won't do anything reckless," Azrael assured her as he opened the door to the enclosed room.

The density of cosmic energy within the open field of the training area was already quite high compared to the outside.

But as Azrael stepped into the room—specifically designed for accumulating cosmic energy—he found the density here was at least twice that of the open field.

What's more, this wasn't its limit; he could increase the energy density even further.

"Lia, wait outside," Azrael instructed as he pressed the button to close the door.

"Young Lord, but—"

"Don't worry. As I said before, I won't do anything reckless," Azrael cut her off before she could finish, and the door sealed shut.

Once the door was closed, Azrael finally relaxed. From what he had observed about Lia, he was 80% certain she was an assassin.

He didn't know whether she was a bodyguard left behind by his parents to protect him and Kael, or if she was there to monitor them for other reasons.

But staying around someone who was clearly far stronger than him—without fully knowing the nature of their relationship—was nerve-racking.

Especially since he had no clue how the original Azrael behaved around her.

He was fairly sure Lia had already noticed his behavior was different from usual, but since she didn't understand the reason behind it, she hadn't questioned him yet.

"Those two people will be back soon… I just hope the excuse I came up with, based on everything I heard from Kael, will work on them and they won't suspect my identity," Azrael muttered and finally turned his focus to the room around him.

The layout of the room wasn't large—about 25 square meters—and aside from a mat in the center, it was completely empty.

Azrael looked back at the closed door and noticed several buttons mounted beside it.

Just by examining them, he could tell that these buttons were used to control the cosmic energy within the room.

"The current density is already perfect for my level, so I don't need to change it…" He muttered and sat down on the mat.

After sitting, he glanced at the task he had just received.

"A Despair-Level Token of Eonrift, huh."

As he had mentioned before, Eonrift is the place where awakened individuals must go after their awakening to complete a trial and activate their powers.

To enter Eonrift, you have to fulfill two conditions:

First — You must be awakened.

Second — You must possess an entry token to Eonrift.

There are a total of six levels of entry tokens. From lowest to highest, they are: Easy, Medium, Hard, Nightmare, Hell, and Despair.

Azrael hadn't found much detailed information online about these token levels, but he knew that the Nightmare, Hell, and Despair level tokens were extremely rare.

Especially the Hell and Despair levels.

Even for the Thorne Family—who held significant influence within the Human Federation—it might not be possible to obtain a Hell and Despair-Level Token.

The higher the level of token used to enter Eonrift, the more difficult the trial becomes.

But at the same time, the power one obtains after completing a high-level trial is naturally much stronger than what someone receives from completing a lower-level trial.

"There wasn't any information about Despair-Level Tokens on the internet, but I did see that the last two people who entered Eonrift using Hell-Level Tokens died during their trials."

Azrael stared at the task notification in front of him for a few seconds before a smirk tugged at his lips.

"It's interesting… whatever this thing is that's giving me these tasks, it's offering something so precious just for learning a Cosmic Energy Breathing Method. Does it want me to grow stronger than everyone else by using a Despair-Level Token, or…"

Azrael's eyes gleamed with a cold light.

"Or does it want me to enter Eonrift with a Despair-Level Token and die during the trial?"

Though he had countless questions, Azrael pushed them aside for now and focused on what was at hand.

After seeing the level of power possessed by people in this world, he had searched for ways to grow stronger.

Naturally, the first method he discovered was awakening.

Unfortunately, he was still only fifteen and had to wait until he turned sixteen to awaken.

So, he searched for ways to become stronger before awakening—and eventually found some promising results.

Among them, two methods stood out the most.

The first was to train the body, improve fighting skills, and find a suitable weapon—whether it be a spear, sword, halberd, axe, dagger, or any other weapon—and build a solid foundation before awakening.

The second was to learn how to control cosmic energy.

Azrael was interested in both methods.

But in the end, he chose to learn how to control cosmic energy first.

His reasoning was that his body was still refining the Cosmic Energy Affinity Pill, and if he focused on physical training, Lia—or someone else training him—might notice something unusual. That could bring unnecessary trouble.

Azrael looked at the blue crystal in his hand, recalling the benefits he'd read about the Cosmic Energy Breathing Method.

"Efficient utilization of cosmic energy, faster recovery, reduced consumption… and more." He muttered, pressing the crystal against his forehead.

The moment it touched his skin, he applied a bit of force, and the crystal shattered into tiny motes of light that sank into his forehead.