Nathan seemed to slip into an autopilot state under the influence of [Improved Recognition Pattern].

  Within his mind, a separate space formed, where seemingly random small points appeared in succession. After observing them for a while, patterns gradually emerged. The solution wasn't difficult, but it required a general direction.

  As his mind prepared to solve it, another Octahedron materialized in his hand. He began drawing lines to connect the appearing points.

  The trial process extended as long as the analysis phase, until finally, he understood what needed to be done.

  The solution to this problem involved drawing equilateral triangles nested within each other to infinity. What Nathan needed to input wasn't the formula for the Octahedron to draw, but rather a general concept. The challenge would verify if he was implementing it correctly. Time was limited, so these trials couldn't force contestants to experiment continuously to produce exact formulas down to the smallest detail.

  The initial drawing was two-dimensional, while the Octahedron was three-dimensional, which had consumed time.

  A term emerged in Nathan's mind from knowledge of his previous world that he hadn't bothered to remember: Sierpiński Triangle. Of course, in this world, the fractal had been discovered by someone whose name Nathan didn't know. This challenge approached chaos by making points appear seemingly at random. Upon observation, one would recognize them as midpoints of line segments. Sufficient points would create triangles, gradually completing a complex yet pattern-based fractal.

  Nathan released his hand when he completed the challenge.

  Zahra, who had been dozing with her face in her hands, startled awake at the sound of the cube in Nathan's hand dropping. Zeryn and Evelyn emerged from their meditative states, eyes wide and unblinking with disbelief as they stared at Nathan.

  Across the way, the Artificer who had chosen the arithmetic problem was distracted by the events on this side, looking up. His expression mirrored Zeryn's and Evelyn's—shock at what was unfolding. Having realized none of his opponents specialized in calculations, he had arrogantly assumed that if they failed to solve the spatial problem, he could solve it instead.

  The young man considered the team leader now flushed with embarrassment. The cubes placed here allowed anyone approaching to analyze them briefly and make their choice. This itself was a puzzle to solve. In life, when faced with choices, the skill of preliminary assessment was crucial. Yet as an Artificer, he had made the wrong choice. The worst choice possible.

  This arithmetic problem was unsolvable, a blatant red herring. This was likely the intention of The Shifting Trials' challenge designers. A seemingly simple problem with no answer. The deceptively easy appearance would lure those avoiding difficulty, choosing the easy path. Delving deeper and finding no solution struck at one's pride—too invested to abandon, yet revealing one's inadequacy by failing. This trap pulled the chooser deeper, wasting time on something meaningless, ultimately missing opportunities for others.

  And here, the "other" was Nathan.

  "Damn the 3x + 1," the Artificer cursed, angrily sweeping his sleeve as he pulled his teammates away.

  Nathan, of course, hadn't heard the other side cursing him. He was equally stunned by the now-darkened cube, ready for him to open.

  "How long are you going to stand there?" Zahra excitedly urged.

  Exhaling deeply, Nathan placed his hands on two opposing sides and applied counter force. A click sounded, and the object inside rose into midair.

  It resembled the shape that had appeared in his vision. A small Octahedron, no larger than his palm.

  "Holy shit!" Zeryn exclaimed. "A Dimensional Facet!"

  "Is it valuable?" Nathan asked naively.

  His response was met with Evelyn's exasperated headshake, Zeryn's heaving chest of frustration, and Zahra's delighted smile, as if she were all too familiar with this situation.

  "It's a treasure, you blockhead," Zeryn rapped Nathan's head, but instead of affecting his target, he felt his own knuckles sting. "It's valuable across all cities, people would pay high prices for it. You can use it to create a Spatial Ring, or expand the space in an existing one. What the hell did you just solve to get such a massive reward?"

  Nathan didn't explain because he didn't know how to explain. He couldn't exactly say it was all due to his passive skill.

  He looked down at the precious stone with some emotion. Though lacking PsiLink to understand everything, he knew that increasing space for a Spatial Ring was valuable. Long-term, a Cultivator would accumulate many items, increasing the need for space. This problem could somewhat be solved by using additional rings or storage items, but these had drawbacks.

  The spatial properties of Spatial Rings placed close together would lead to incursion phenomena. Spatial overlap could cause items inside to shatter. Not to mention the cultivator's spirit connection being divided this way, making the process of retrieving items significantly slower. And one second was enough to take someone down.

  Monster Storage Pouches avoided this problem through the material of their outer layer. The pouch's larger surface allowed Artificers to use different materials to negate incursions. Rings were too small for such experimentation without sufficient knowledge and expertise.

  "Keep it for me," Nathan told Zeryn. He feared placing it in his own Spatial Pouch would risk losing it unknowingly.

  "Can I use it for you?"

  "I can put you into a coma to dream about that."

  Without wasting a motion, Zeryn claimed the Dimensional Facet.

  At that moment, an L-shaped block descended from above, hovering before Nathan.

  He took it, looking around in confusion.

  "What is it?" Zahra voiced everyone's inner question.

  Nathan pulled out two more L-shaped pieces.

  "Did you steal from someone, Nate?" Zeryn chuckled, producing a fourth in his hand.

  "You got it from that extended challenge?" Nathan asked.

  "That's right," Zeryn answered. "Seems each challenge completed awards one of these. I don't know what they're for either."

  Nathan tried moving the pieces apart and together, arranging them into different shapes, but nothing happened.

  He narrowed his eyes, keeping one for himself and giving the other two to Evelyn and Zahra.

  "We don't know what they're for yet, but they must serve some purpose. You two should each take one."

  "Are you sure?" Evelyn questioned. "What if having more gives an advantage?"

  "I can't hoard everything, can I? It's not like I earned these through my own efforts. Yours is for defeating the Lava Drake, this one was next to the Winter's Heart Drop. Zahra's is because you led us here. Without you, I wouldn't have obtained it."

  "That sounds reasonable," Zahra grinned broadly, accepting the item. "In that case, I won't be polite about it."

  Evelyn nodded, storing the item in her spatial ring.

  Thus, each of the four now possessed one piece.

  When they returned down the staircase, the four exited. The spatial mechanism inside seemed to have changed when they reached the room containing the cubes.

  Ten thousand points divided by four were distributed among the members. They would know how their rankings had improved by evening.

  "Well, that was fun. Now, what next?" Zahra asked.

  "Lay low, I think," Nathan answered.

  "That's so boring," Zahra pouted.

  "And eat food I cook."

  "Hehe, I've been waiting for just that."

  The four left the area with its bizarre architecture.

  When night fell, they found a mountain valley to take shelter and set up a campfire.

  Nathan once again demonstrated his cooking skills with Argentius gathering ingredients. Concerned the humans would eat too much, it had worked hard to hunt two Wind Runners that had escaped after their Tier 2 leader was eliminated. Ultimately, they weren't fortunate enough to escape their predetermined fate.

  Nathan spent some time preparing the antelope-like creatures into grilled dishes and soup, dividing appropriate portions for each person.

  "Finally, deciding to befriend you has borne fruit," Zeryn joked after swallowing a piece of meat.

  Nathan smirked.

  "Eat less. Every portion you eat is one less portion left."

  "Don't be such a stingy miser."

  "That's right," Zahra said with her mouth full, waving her hand. "You have to cook for us for a long time to come."

  Argentius added its agreement with an affirming growl.

  Nathan glanced toward Evelyn, who avoided his gaze and continued eating. Even she agreed.

  "Then eat your fill," Nathan said jubilantly, spreading his arms. "Feel free to eat this devil's portion too."

  Argentius bristled, extending its claws to pull its meat pile aside, growling at everyone.

  The dinner was filled with laughter from all.

  Nathan stirred, his mind already full of thoughts. Today's bizarre talent from [Random Talent] made his mouth itch restlessly.

  "Remember the mirror world we once discussed?" Nathan prompted.

  Zeryn and Zahra both leaned in to listen. Evelyn paused her eating; though motionless, she was clearly interested.

  "Have you ever had this thought?" Nathan couldn't help speaking rapidly. "Mirrors don't break, they just multiply?"

  Everyone frowned upon hearing this. Something felt off about Nathan's statement, but they couldn't pinpoint exactly what. Especially since it involved the mirror world the group had discussed on their way to Maelivar. Zeryn began to wonder what would happen if the mirror world gateway had never been destroyed—what if some small fragment lay buried in dust, just waiting to be excavated and bring chaos to the entire world?

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  Zeryn's hand trembled at the thought. Meanwhile, the perpetrator behind this phenomenon exhaled in relief.

  Today's [Random Talent] had given him the ability to create Shower Thoughts, reflections on life's reality and trivialities so powerful they made his head feel ready to explode as they flooded in. Expressing them truly lightened his mind.

  "Nate, surely you don't have any more insane questions?" Zeryn glared at him.

  "I do," Nathan said excitedly. "Want to hear more? Let me tell you."

  "If I could stuff a sword in your mouth, I would."

  "Screw you," Nathan ignored Zeryn and continued. "The brain named itself. Isn't that weird?"

  Even Evelyn set down her plate. Zahra showed genuine interest, tilting her head thoughtfully, as if questioning her own brain on this matter.

  Zeryn clenched his fist, feeling helpless.

  "Here's another one," Nathan pressed on. "Erasers sacrifice their lives little by little to fix our mistakes."

  Unlike their profound expressions earlier, this time all three looked at Nathan in confusion.

  Zahra voiced her bewilderment.

  "What's an eraser? As far as I understand, erasers don't sacrifice anything?"

  Nathan exhaled sharply, his mouth agape.

  "Your world doesn't have erasers? The thing that removes writing from pen?"

  "Ah," Zahra exclaimed. "That primitive recording method? Only old men in libraries use that. But their pens can redo writing without needing what you call an eraser. Nobody uses that term for such a mundane item."

  Nathan didn't need to look to know his face was flushing with embarrassment. This wasn't Earth. Cultivators who reached the pinnacle of cultivation also elevated technology to new heights. Erasers not appearing in children's lives until they grew up made perfect sense.

  "I want to join in," Zahra announced solemnly. "I just thought of something. This game is quite fun."

  "Shoot," Nathan hoped the girl would help alleviate his awkward situation.

  "Are oranges named oranges because oranges are orange? Or is orange named orange because oranges are orange?"

  Nathan applauded appreciatively. Even with his [Random Talent], he couldn't have conceived a statement both as mouthful and as interesting as Zahra's.

  "You two, please," Zeryn groaned. "Stop!"

  Zahra ignored him, challenging Nathan with a tilt of her chin.

  After a moment's thought, Nathan countered.

  "Ice cubes float in the pool of their own blood."

  Zeryn decided to eat in silence, no longer engaging with the two lunatics.

  Evelyn curiously conjured an ice cube near the campfire, placing it on a stone surface. The ice cube rotated as water melted, reducing friction.

  The campfire gathering remained noisy until midnight, with Nathan and Zahra relentlessly throwing out meaningless thoughts. Yet joy filled the air. Zeryn only pretended to be annoyed but always smiled. Evelyn showed no expression, but her gaze never lost its attentiveness.

  The ranking changes didn't significantly affect the group.

  At this point, contestants were frantically hunting each other to gain as many points as possible. Thus, some rankings changed dramatically while others remained stable. The point economy was reaching equilibrium. With her additional points, Zahra solidified her position in the top 200. Nathan and Evelyn were securely in the top 100. Zeryn hovered near the top ten with nearly thirteen thousand points.

  Since they didn't need to search for more, the team took turns keeping watch so Nathan could rest. Long, uninterrupted sleep genuinely helped him. His persistent fatigue decreased significantly.

  Waking in the morning, Nathan lifted his head from Argentius's comfortable stomach to survey his surroundings. He blinked to regain alertness, absorbing the scene before him.

  Near the campfire, where only crackling black embers remained, the earth, rocks, trees, and weeds had been completely upturned, scattered chaotically. Slash marks left deep impressions on the steep mountain walls. In another area, tree trunks had been clawed until they leaned precariously. In yet another corner stood ice statues of human figures in various poses—panic-stricken, fleeing—all fully formed.

  Inside these statues, nothing remained. Clearly, the bracelets had activated their defense mechanism, transporting the victims away.

  The three culprits were closing their eyes, holding mana stones for recovery in their hands.

  Without needing explanation, Nathan understood they had been ambushed. This attack might have begun when they appeared in the unstable region, or immediately after leaving the Artificer challenge. Everyone could see their points and target them accordingly. The group now carried nearly forty thousand points combined, enough to tempt anyone.

  In their place, he would also consider attacking high-point individuals.

  He tested his bracelet toward his teammates. After checking, he swallowed hard.

  Their points had all increased significantly. Especially Zeryn, who had reached eighteen thousand. Zahra now matched his own points. Evelyn had surpassed ten thousand.

  The blue-haired girl opened her eyes, looking at him questioningly.

  "Do you feel better now?"

  "Much better," he replied. "Why do the points look strange?"

  "Half. That's the portion of points received after defeating opponents."

  "I see."

  Nathan nodded thoughtfully. This was likely a mechanism initially designed to limit confrontations between contestants, focusing instead on challenges scattered throughout the pocket dimension. Only afterward would come the time for conflicts when most people had become attractive targets. He understood more clearly why Artificers, Alchemists, and Herbalists all needed guardian support. These professions, not specializing in offense, would be at an extreme disadvantage when this phase began.

  After waiting, Zeryn and Zahra both recovered to their optimal state.

  "Something is changing," Argentius informed Nathan. It sensed tremors through the terrain.

  Nathan relayed this to the others. Zeryn flew up on his sword, surveying the surroundings.

  "Something's happening at the far north," he reported upon landing.

  The group agreed to investigate.

  With all four seated on Zeryn's sword, control proved somewhat difficult but maintainable.

  After traveling some distance, the pocket dimension's transformation manifested before their eyes.

  Space was collapsing, or more accurately, contracting. With the naked eye, they could see the terrain separating into precise square sections, drifting toward endless darkness. A tree with full three-dimensional structure suddenly transformed into a two-dimensional painting, detaching from where it stood, then vanishing. The nearby mountain followed suit, its rough rocks no longer protruded outward but became perfectly flat before disappearing.

  "So the center will be the final battleground," Zeryn said.

  Grave looks answered him. The Shifting Trials had reached its final stage. The time had come for spectators watching outside to witness the most spectacular performance.

  After admiring space's wonder, Zeryn turned his sword around, landing on the ground. Moving through the air consumed too much energy, and the group still didn't know what awaited them. They needed to maintain peak condition for whatever lay ahead.

  Traveling through forests and plains, Nathan's team encountered other groups heading in one direction. Currently, no one attacked them since most had already stolen points. Lone contestants wouldn't risk confrontation now.

  Nevertheless, some groups in alert positions launched ambushes. But by this point, everyone was elite among elites. Easy points no longer existed. Attacking groups consequently failed, retreating dejectedly if they preserved their lives, or being teleported out of the pocket dimension if not.

  Nathan's group was targeted only once before no one dared approach again. Evelyn alone sufficed to repel the attacking team with her powerful ice aura. After seeing Zeryn, other groups extinguished their intentions.

  Information about top 10 candidates remained in everyone's memory, and the sword prodigy was among them, so retreat was understandable.

  The four people and tiger moved continuously toward the central area.

  This location was familiar to most people, so everyone wondered why they were moving in this direction. However, rules were rules—no need for excessive questioning.

  Besides Nathan, the three others in the group once again used mana stones to recover. Nathan sat majestically on Argentius's back, drawing stares from those around. Everyone's bracelets flickered, pointing toward the monster.

  The rules never prohibited using monsters, so Nathan hadn't ordered Argentius to hide or return to the Monster Storage Pouch. This monster partner would greatly help in the next phase, particularly by intimidating potential aggressors.

  Nathan supposed that Artificers must have contestants using robots or battle machines similar to monsters, as this was their specialty. Prohibiting them would seem illogical. Many wouldn't object when the only Tier 1 in The Shifting Trials needed to rely on a monster.

  "Hello, young chef," Emrys Merinor approached to greet him.

  "Hello, Lady Emrys," Nathan replied with some coldness.

  After learning from Ruby Voss that Arthur Merinor had appeared at one of his dinner parties, he suddenly felt he shouldn't associate closely with the Merinor family. The mystery surrounding Arthur served as a warning bell of potential danger—from his unstable past, to the deception about his death, to his connection with the Voss family. If already within reach, he didn't want involvement with this family.

  Emrys narrowed her eyes, noticing the change in Nathan's treatment toward her. Though talented, this young chef still lacked the emotional concealment of the man recovering with closed eyes nearby, Zeryn. That sword prodigy was truly a venomous snake, seemingly approachable and safe, yet one could never be certain.

  Emrys didn't think much of it; these two remained indebted to her, so she simply smiled and chatted.

  "Your team is quite formidable, isn't it?"

  "Are you suggesting I'm the key factor?" Nathan joked.

  "Isn't that so?" Emrys covered her mouth, her loose, comfortable uniform fluttering in the wind. "I find it somewhat hard to believe you've made it this far. So calling you the crucial factor probably isn't an exaggeration."

  "I'm just lucky," Nathan stroked Argentius's neck, implying it was all thanks to the monster. He had grown accustomed to deflecting responsibility onto his partner.

  Once again taking credit for achievements not his own, the tiger monster growled in protest. But to the Merinor lady, this appeared as a display of authority.

  "The White Ward of Moirath Forest," Emrys marveled. "You truly always bring surprises."

  Nathan responded with a slight smile.

  Emrys was lost in thought. This tiger monster had existed for some time in the territory near Maelivar. Before that, various sects and organizations had shown interest in it. Yet none had made a move. Previously, she hadn't paid attention. Now, she deduced that it wasn't that others didn't want to capture the monster—they couldn't. But why?

  That wasn't even the most important question; the focus was The White Ward submitting to follow this young man. So, who was he really?

  Emrys tightened her thumb, briefly frowning, wondering whether establishing a relationship with Nathan would be wise for future plans. Had she known this information earlier, she might have been more cautious about attending the dinner party.

  Zeryn awoke, assuming responsibility for conversing with Emrys in Nathan's place.

  The central location grew increasingly crowded thanks to a marker floating in midair. It had no clear shape, just distorted lines overlapping each other, poised to transform when the time came.

  From dozens, gradually hundreds of people gathered around the clearing. The distant space was disintegrating ever faster at an accelerating rate. Those who couldn't run quickly enough or were maliciously pushed back would be swallowed by infinite darkness. They would likely be transported outside rather than being annihilated completely.

  The heightened vigilance of hundreds of individuals made the atmosphere heavy, carrying an indescribable suffocating feeling. Everyone's eyes darted around, ready to react to the slightest movement.

  Nathan saw conflicts breaking out in several places, apparently settling grievances between groups.

  Once again, misfortune named Obsidian Fang Sect. Few disciples from this sect remained, just three people. Their mortal enemies from The Thousand Stars Pavilion had arrived even earlier.

  As soon as they encountered each other, Zhanyu established a barrier using his Space Aspect, trapping the Obsidian Fang Sect disciples. Then, he calmly stood aside, observing as his teammates entered to slaughter the three remaining disciples.

  The situation escalated when the Obsidian Fang Sect was accompanied by several disciples from Verdant Spire Sect. Though the elders hadn't instructed them to assist Obsidian specifically, they were told to support fellow disciples. More than ten disciples gathered together with Keira Valaine's group, creating enough pressure that Zhanyu was forced to relent.

  Thus, of over ten Obsidian Fang Sect disciples who had come to participate in The Shifting Trials, none remained.

  Nathan looked toward Zhanyu. This disciple, considered the most dangerous according to rankings, was only equal to him. The composure he displayed suggested he didn't particularly care about points, as if he knew better things awaited and saw no need to exert himself prematurely.

  Making a mental note to beware of this opponent, Nathan suddenly ducked his head when his gaze reached a large group of people arriving.

  Lachlan Rourke's and Ruby Voss's team.

  Lachlan still wore that ridiculous expression, unchanged. Sensing Nathan's gaze, he immediately glared back. Recognizing his counterpart, Lachlan smiled, raising his hand to wave as if greeting a long-lost friend.

  Nathan's skin crawled at the gesture.

  Lachlan didn't hold a high rank, only around top 400. Yet Nathan wouldn't misjudge him for this, as he had likely allocated most points to his subordinates. Those following him all had high point totals. The young swordsman who had used wind aspect mana to strike Nathan into paralysis ranked within the top 20. Thus, Lachlan couldn't possibly be lazy. He had deliberate intentions.

  Ruby Voss's group was more concerning, not because of their high points, but their low ones, with some outside the top 500. Without explanation, Nathan guessed the outcome of their encounter after the Forest Hydra.

  Seeing the striking young man seated on the tiger, Ruby Voss couldn't contain her anger. If not for this bastard fleeing midway, she wouldn't be struggling so much. She knew her results were worse than her siblings. And that wasn't good at all for her future under Duke Kael Voss's scrutiny.

  Gradually, everyone seemed to have arrived.

  The marker in midair suddenly vibrated, releasing a chaotic energy field around it.

  Then, a square barrier formed.

  A strange scene unfolded before the contestants. A mass of earth materialized from nothing right before their eyes. They didn't move, but where they stood was pushed outward, making room for the new terrain.

  At a glance, this earth formation was cube-shaped, with four enormous canyons at its corners. Its surface was smooth as metal. Through the four canyons, one could see a bright point at the center. Everyone understood this was their next destination.

  At each canyon, platforms detached from the high walls, floating back and forth, then either falling into the immeasurably deep abyss below, vanishing midway, or reintegrating with the structure. The unpredictable element was evident to all observing eyes.

  Hovering in midair was a message at all four corners for everyone to see.

  ARENA OPEN!

  Contestants please enter through the pathways.

  Only the top 512 may pass through the dividing barrier. Bracelets showing rankings will be continuously updated from now on.

  Wishing good luck to all of you.

  Nathan drew a deep breath.

  Chaos was only now truly beginning.