Gravis smirked as he looked up into the sky. For the first time, he managed to get one over Heaven. Even though he was still incredibly weak, when compared to Heaven, he had still managed to anger it that much that it ignored every consequence to attack him.
Gravis knew that his father would not save his life if everything went its usual way. Yet, Gravis had absolute trust that his father would not allow Heaven to break its own rules to deal with him. The fact that Heaven directly controlled the beasts was already a breaking of the rules, yet it was still in the range of something that Gravis could manage.
"Ouch!" as Gravis moved his arm, he felt a pain shooting throughout his body, and only now did he realize how injured he actually was. Luckily, there were no broken bones, and it should only take around a day to heal back to his peak condition. If he didn't have tempered organs and blood, this would take weeks to heal.
He put his black saber back onto his back and inspected his new saber. It had the same length as his old one, but it was red, and multiple lines were crisscrossing across its surface. When Gravis looked at it closer, he smiled in happiness. "An Energy Weapon!" he said to himself.
Gravis had learned the basics of Equipment Forging in his homeworld, and he was knowledgeable enough to realize how much this saber was worth. An Energy Weapon was, like its name suggested, a weapon fit for an Energy Gathering expert. Only by infusing one's Energy, was one able to bring out the full potential of such a weapon.
Gravis had wanted to find a long-term weapon for a while now. His Void-Stone saber was great, but the, right now, positive aspect of absorbing Energy would become negative as soon as he broke through the Energy Gathering Realm. The saber would start absorbing his own Energy.
"Could this actually be considered luck?" Gravis asked himself but quickly shook his head. The treasures here were not natural treasures that were placed here at random. Those were treasures that were put here by the Guild Masters.
On top of that, Gravis already had enough strength to roll through the entire Basin of Nature. He could take any treasure he wanted. Yet, to get this one treasure, he had to fight an onslaught of beasts, as well as Heaven continually trying to make his life hard. This was a treasure that required Gravis to use his own strength to get. Luck had nothing to do with it.
Gravis put his new saber also on his back. Right now, it was just as good as his old weapon. Even more critical, Void-Stone might actually be harder than this saber. Using it now was unnecessary. Only when he reached the Energy Gathering Realm, would this saber truly shine.
Gravis looked around and saw several participants and the Guild Masters looking at him with shock. He took one step forward, and everyone took one step back, including the Guild Masters. When Gravis saw that, he frowned.
That the participants retreated seemed logical, but Gravis was sure that the Guild Masters would still be stronger than him. Everything he had done earlier, they could do as well, and with even more ease. Gravis took another step.
"Stop!" shouted the Guild Master of Wind, her hair fluttering more aggressively than before.
"Why?" Gravis asked.
She narrowed her eyes. "Heaven and Earth were enraged and attacked you," she explained. "You have gone against Heaven and Earth, and we do not want to be implicated by you."
Gravis looked around but sneered inside. Anyone that called Heaven, 'Heaven and Earth' had no idea about how Heaven worked. Earth was part of Heaven. Earth was like Heaven's limbs and not its own entity. Earth couldn't judge anyone, because Earth was only an arm, metaphorically speaking.
"Heaven keeps to its own rules," Gravis half-lied. "It has sent the spider to attack me yesterday. I survived the encounter, and when I broke through into the Bone Forging Realm, I wanted my payment. Heaven has lost the bet, and we fought. In the end, I've proven myself worthy, and Heaven retreated," Gravis pointed at the sky.
"I'm obviously not strong enough to battle Heaven, and it could destroy me if it wanted to. Nothing was stopping it from destroying me, yet it didn't. Heaven had shown that it followed its own rules and that it was just. It was only testing me," Gravis lied through his teeth.
The Guild Masters looked at the clear sky. The last lightning bolt came and vanished too quickly, so they never noticed. In their eyes, it looked like Heaven had scattered its clouds by itself after the fight was over. The more they thought about it, the more Gravis' words seemed to make sense.
They knew that Gravis couldn't possibly fight against Heaven. He was way too weak for that. Yet, Heaven had not killed him. The only reason why someone with ultimate power would not kill someone weaker is that they didn't want to. There was no other explanation.
When the Guild Masters realized that, they sighed in relief. Maybe this was a unique way of tempering a Heavenborn? Maybe Heaven and Earth had only sent all those beasts because it knew full well that Gravis could win. That intense battle surely also increased Gravis' will.
'Heaven is really too kind to its own children,' they all thought. Heaven had bestowed Gravis, its favorite child, a treasure, as well as a tempering experience. The Guild Masters grew a little envious. They also wished that Heaven would love and care for them like it loved and cared for Gravis.
The Guild Master of Light walked forward and smiled. "Then, congratulations on receiving your reward!" and he shook Gravis' hand. Gravis simply smiled back.
"Thank you!" he said happily. Gravis had one-upped Heaven, got a new weapon, and even went through another real life and death battle. His strength had increased explosively with his new breakthrough, and he would soon join the Lightning Guild. For the first time since arriving in the lower world, things were actually going his way.
The other Guild Masters also congratulated him, and now seemed to be fine around him. Only the Guild Master of Lightning thought that things weren't as they appeared. He knew that Gravis was no Heavenborn, and he also doubted that Heaven only wanted to temper him. To him, it looked like Heaven tried to do everything in its powers to kill him, except directly strike him, for some reason.
Yet, the Guild Master of Lightning decided not to ask Gravis about these things. They had a deal, and as long as Gravis' strength increased, the Guild Master of Lightning would be happy.
When someone in their guild broke through to the Magic Gathering Realm (Energy Gathering), they would be sent to the middle-continent parent-guild. Every time a new recruit got sent there, The Guild Master of the local guild would earn a reward. The Guild Master of Lightning was sure that Gravis would quickly break through to the Magic Gathering Realm (Energy Gathering).
"So," said the Guild Master of Earth. "How are we supposed to judge who passed, and who didn't?" he asked into the round. All the treasures were gone and buried in the ground. Due to Gravis, the whole entrance exam got turned upside down.
How were they supposed to judge who passed?