Jacob thought the Blinding Arena was aptly named. The intense radiance flooded the space, making it hard for even someone like Jacob to see clearly without his Eyes of Judge.
The entire ground seemed to glow with a soft, ethereal white, reflecting and refracting the radiant energy from all angles. It felt as though Jacob had stepped into the heart of a star, where light itself was alive and pulsed with energy. Every surface was bright, making the surroundings almost indistinguishable.
Suddenly, figures began to emerge from the light. These beings weren't like anything Jacob had faced before. They were formed entirely from radiant energy, their bodies shimmering and shifting with each movement. The radiant beings were humanoid in shape but lacked any distinguishing features other than their blinding glow.
Their very presence seemed to intensify the overwhelming brightness of the arena, and with every step, they emitted intense flashes of light, each one disorienting and distracting.
These radiant entities moved in erratic, unpredictable patterns, their forms shifting in and out of the intense light. It was clear that they used the arena's brilliance to their advantage, appearing almost invisible as they blended with the surrounding radiance.
Whenever they attacked, they unleashed massive flashes of blinding light, making it almost impossible for anyone to rely solely on sight to predict their next move.
But Jacob was different. Though the brightness was enough to blind any Quasi Legend, Jacob's Eyes of Judge had evolved beyond ordinary sight. His intermediate awakening allowed him to see far more than just visible light.
He tapped into his ability to sense energy and truth. The radiant beings might have been made of light. Still, Jacob could see through their brilliance—he could sense their energy signatures and detect their movements even when their attacks created overwhelming flashes of light.
This gave him a distinct advantage in the trial. While the radiant beings moved at high speed, hoping to disorient him with bursts of light, Jacob used his soul force to enhance his spatial awareness.
Being invisible and bound by his will, soul force allowed him to feel every movement within the arena as if the light did not affect his senses. He felt the pulsating energy of the radiant beings, their presence cutting through the oppressive brightness.
With a calm focus, Jacob extended his soul force into the arena, using it like an invisible net to map the positions of the light creatures. As one of them launched forward, unleashing a blinding flash in an attempt to stun him, Jacob's soul force reacted faster than his sight ever could. He moved fluidly, avoiding the radiant being's attack, relying purely on the feedback his soul force provided.
But he didn't just stay defensive.
Jacob infused his soul force with violet lightning, channeling the stellar energy he mastered. These crackling tendrils of energy sparked to life. Unlike the radiant beings, his lightning wasn't just bright—it was ethereal and potent, capable of cutting through the intense brilliance of the arena.
The violet lightning surged with power beyond just light; it carried the essence of the stars, making it something that even these radiant creatures could not withstand easily.
As the radiant beings closed in, Jacob unleashed a storm of violet lightning bolts, which he controlled with pinpoint accuracy. Guided by his soul force, the bolts zigzagged through the arena, slicing through the radiant forms of his enemies.
Each bolt struck with the speed of light and the weight of celestial power, leaving the radiant beings with no time to recover before they were torn apart.
Their forms shimmered as they disintegrated into pure light, vanishing into the blinding brilliance of the arena. Despite their ferocity and attempts to disorient him with flashes of light, they were no match for Jacob's mastery over his abilities.
However, the arena wasn't done challenging him. The radiant beings began to multiply, emerging faster and in greater numbers.
The arena itself seemed to pulse with energy, trying to overwhelm Jacob by sheer volume. The flashes of light became more frequent and more intense, and even the air seemed to hum with radiant energy.
But undeterred, Jacob continued to wield his violet lightning, manipulating the surrounding radiance to his advantage.
His soul force reached out, not only sensing the energy around him but also controlling the very light that filled the arena. By channeling his stellar lightning through his soul force, Jacob began to bend the light itself—redirecting the overwhelming brightness into concentrated beams that struck down the radiant beings with devastating precision.
This was a completely unexpected development, as he didn't expect his soul force to do that. He only followed his instincts. It was as if he could sense the flow of energy and soul force hidden in the light attacks, disrupt this energy, and even change it to his advantage as long as this energy wasn't stronger than his own.
Jacob had to admit that he was learning to use soul force faster with the tower trials and even becoming proficient in his elemental energy, which he had neglected all this time. The Legendary Rank magic cores seemed to have opened a new world of possibilities for him; it was like a shackle had been broken.
The limitations of magic, like the rectified stars, limited mana capacity, and lack of control because of spells, were completely gone, and this made Jacob finally bloom as a magic user. Until now, he didn't even think about using his weapons at all as his magic began to replace them. Nonetheless, another reason was that his weapons were useless since soul force was involved. Jacob danced through the light with each move, untouchable by the radiant enemies' tactics. Because of his soul force and mana's continuous use, he was in some kind of strange state.
At this moment, his soul force allowed him to anticipate their every attack while his lightning overwhelmed them with cosmic might. Those opponents become his whetstones!
When he reached the point where he no longer made any progress, Jacob suddenly tried something. His mana burst out, and the next moment, he summoned a massive violet lightning storm that enveloped the arena.
The ethereal energy surged and crackled, engulfing the radiant beings in a cascade of stellar power. One by one, they fell, their forms dissolving into the very light they had emerged from until none remained.
The blinding arena was once again quiet, the radiant beings vanquished, and Jacob stood victorious, his soul force and stellar lightning still sparking in the aftermath of the intense battle.
Although he had used a massive amount of mana and soul force in this battle, it was all worth it since he had learned many things from it. At this moment, a door materialized in front of him.
However, Jacob didn't enter right away and saw the remaining time. Over seven hours remained before the deadline. Jacob decided to stay and recover before moving to the next trial this time.
Previously, he didn't do it because he was uncertain about the consequences—he still was—but he observed the timer on the cursed immorality from the start, and he found that the timer never stopped despite him clearing the trial.
That's why he became doubtful if this remaining time could be used to recover. To find out, all he needed to do was wait and look out for the door. If the door showed any signs of disappearing, he would quickly enter it, and if it didn't, it would prove his conjecture.
Jacob sat down and focused on recovering, his eyes wide open as he looked at the ethereal door. After another hour, the door didn't show any sign of disappearing, which made Jacob more sure about his guess. He started to recover in earnest while keeping his eyes on the time.
Hours passed, and only a minute remained on the timer. Jacob stood up and entered the door without any delay, which led him to the fourth trial!