Chapter 4: Trial
Edgar opened his eyes and saw a room full of medieval European styles. He observed his body, and it felt like the real world. The trial was in a virtual world that tested the abilities of a challenger.
There were clues on how to pass the trial. Clues were connected to a god. The god who kept the divine core and skills at the gate of inheritance. The divine core and skills were only inherited when a hyperbeing passed the trial. The gate will disappear when the trial failed, and then it will appear in another Tier 3 broken world. A very rare trial appeared on Earth. No gods existed in that virtual world. No challenger had ever passed it. No one knew how to pass it.
"Ahhh!" Edgar felt a headache from the sudden gush of memories in his head.
The world was called Aurora. It was a beautiful world with five continents and many auroras caused by magic particles. The elves lived on the southern continent. Demi-humans were living together with humans on the eastern continent. Most humans lived in the central continent. There were ice continents in the north and south.
The kingdom that was ruled by Edgar was located in the south-eastern region of the central continent. The kingdom was called Baynard Kingdom. There were two kingdoms on its northern border: the Ru kingdom in the northwest and the Fran kingdom in the northeast. North of Ru and Fran was a powerful empire called the Maginev Empire. The Empire was at war with its neighboring powerful country in the west, called the Morowind Empire.
The royal family that ruled Baynard kingdom was the Flameworth family. Van Flameworth was the Regent King, the character given to Edgar.
"There is no information on god in Van's memory. Damn! Is this the trial that no one has ever passed?! No! It is too early to conclude that. I should research first before making a conclusion," thought Edgar. He frowned while exploring the memory of Van, then his mind was suddenly struck by lightning. He saw a video of runesmithing. Although it only showed the beginning, the method was the same in Van's memory. The runes were the same! The knowledge in the Aurora world was real!
"No matter what kind of trial, I will not let go of this massive opportunity to learn. I will study magic, aura, and runesmith. I can let others study potions. I just need to know the process and formula. This world is a big treasure trove of knowledge!" thought Edgar. He felt so excited to learn, then he suddenly felt confused.
Hyperbeings could have two sources of power: aura and magic. Aura was graded from level one to level four. Magicians were graded on how many circles they had on their mana core.
Poison Lord was a third-level aura master and 6th-circle magician. Death God was a third peak-level aura master and 8th circle magician, the highest stage in magic in the world and considered a demigod level.
Edgar felt confused because if the knowledge in the Gate of Inheritance was real, why was knowledge on magic, aura, potion making, and runesmithing not spread to the whole world? They subconsciously thought that it was just an illusion. If you defeat the enemy, then you will inherit skills. They thought that their knowledge of potions and runesmiths came from their own studies.
"Damn! The top is monopolizing knowledge! It is probably an open secret to them!" He gritted his teeth and gripped his fist when he realized it.
''Why are we, at the bottom, not given a chance to learn?! Why?!" asked Edgar in his mind. He remembered how powerless he was when his parents were protecting them. He remembered how they desperately protected them against the beast. They fought the beast as ordinary parents who were just protecting their children. Edgar cried while remembering how his parents sacrificed themselves five years ago.
He wiped his tears. There was a look of determination in his eyes.
"I will find the answer, but the knowledge of aura and magic must spread to the bottom—to the people like us who are powerless against the magic beast and lawless hyperbeings!" Edgar thought, then he continued to explore the knowledge of Van on magic.
Cultivating magic required meditation techniques. The better the meditation technique, the faster mana was absorbed from the air or from mana stones. The better the aptitude of the body, the faster and more mana was absorbed. The best meditation techniques could reach the 8th circle of magic.
The meditation technique included how to form a mana core and a magic circle on the core. When the capacity of the mana core was saturated, another circle could form, which improved the capacity of the mana core. The rune in each circle was different. The rune of the second circle was different from the first circle, and so on. The best meditation techniques had complete details of runes from the 1st circle to the 8th circle.
Forming the runes of a higher circle was not easy for everybody. Some stay in the second circle forever due to their aptitude for magic.
Van had magic, but Edgar must start from scratch. There was a clear method in Van's memory on how to establish a magic core in the sea of consciousness, an instruction from Flame Art Meditation. Edgar closed his eyes, then followed the instructions in Van's memory. Mana was gathering and rotating in his sea of consciousness.
TNNNG! A blue mana core appeared.
"Success!" thought Edgar. He felt happy. He had been dreaming for a long time of possessing magical ability. Next, he built his first magic circle on his mana core. He easily did it because Van repeatedly trained them. The steps were very clear. It only required concentration, which he did not lack.
He further explored Van's memory of magic. Magic was cast through magic circles. There was a faster way to cast magic: rune skills. Magic skills could be formed into rune skills in the sea of consciousness. The magic rune that appeared inside the magic circle when casting a skill was the rune that could be formed in the sea of consciousness.
He tried to form his first magic rune in his sea of consciousness. Runes were slowly forming in his sea of consciousness. A mistake was made on a rune, and then it burst. He repeatedly tried, but he quickly got exhausted. Forming runes in the sea of consciousness required mental energy and mana.
He went to a drawer and took the mana and stamina potions. Mana, stamina, and health recovery potions could only recover 5%, but some potions made by other countries in Aurora were 2% more effective. On Earth, they could only recover 4%.
Knock! Knock! Knock! He was startled by the sudden knock from the door.
"Your Highness, may I come in?" asked a maid.
Edgar hesitated because he had not adjusted yet to Van's character. Van was a lazy and debaucherous prince. People could notice that he was a different person, but he had already prepared a rational reason.
Van Flameworth was smart and diligent when he was a child. Edgar could insist that he prentended as an incompetent prince to fool the enemies. He did not have enough time to slowly adjust his character because based on the information in Van's mind, his life, and the kingdom were in great danger. Edgar knew that the king will only put people who can be trusted around him. He was planning to show his capability to people who can be trusted, but he will still be known as a fool to others.
He let the maid to enter the room, then the girl came in while trembling and staring at the floor, afraid of being molested by the prince. The maid looked 16 years old, cute, had blue hair, and a well-developed body.
"Y-Your highness, y-your food is ready!" The cute little maid was stuttering. She did not even dare look at Edgar.
Edgar was not surprised to see the maid feeling afraid of him since Van was always looking at her with a lecherous gaze."Alright, you can get out now."
The little maid was surprised to hear a calm reply from the prince. In the past, Van always talk like a pervert to her, but she did not hear any lecherous remarks. The little maid looked at the prince, and then her heart skipped a beat. Red hair, handsome face, and the eyes were not the usual eyes of a pervert but pure and calm.
"What is it?" asked Edgar to the little maid, who was staring at him.
"N-nothing, your highness." The maid looked flustered, and her face was blushing. She immediately retreated and went out of the room. Edgar smiled at the silliness of the maid.
"Her name is Elena. She's been the maid of Van for 2 years. The king chose her because she is smart. Van did not force himself on Elena because he is afraid of the king. She might be a good candidate for secretary," thought Edgar with a smile.
Outside the room, Elena stared at the door with a thoughtful look on her face,then she walked away while she was thinking. "Looks like Prince Van have changed. Can a person suddenly change in one day?"
Then she remembered what the king was always saying with a sigh. Van Flameworth was a smart and good kid. Elena was shocked. She looked the prince's room with an unbelievable look on her face.
After changing his clothes, Edgar went to the dining room. "Elena, call the prime minister later to the study room after I eat. Also, find a craftsman that can be trusted, then bring him to me."
"Yes, your highness!" said Elena. Although her suspicion was not completely confirm, she thought that there is a possibility that she was right when she heard the prince's order.
After eating, Edgar went to his study room and waited for the prime minister to arrive. When he was exploring the memory of Van, he saw a plant that could earn a lot of money to solve the kingdom's plight. He needed a powerful kingdom to carry out his plan. Money was a powerful tool that will drive a kingdom's prosperity.
Knock! Knock!
"Come in." Edgar looked at the prime minister who came in.
The minister was trusted by the king. He looked nearly 70 years old and very exhausted. He was an old man who tirelessly worked for the kingdom. He was a minister who could be trusted. His name was Albert Belfield.
"Your highness, did you ask someone to bring me here?" asked Albert. He was surprised when he heard that the prince took the initiative to have a meeting with him. It was the first time that it had happened since the prince became a regent king. He noticed the changes in Van which gave him a surprise.
"Sit first. We will have a long conversation," said Edgar while smiling at Albert.
The minister sat and looked confused. He did not know how he will have a long conversation since he knew that most of Van's knowledge was about women!
"Do you know Franbeans?" Edgar asked the minister. Franbeans were called soybeans on Earth. It was called Franbeans because it originated in the kingdom of Fran.
"Franbeans? The fodder of livestock? We have stocks, but livestock does not like it. Livestock only eat it when there is no other food. Why are you asking, your highness?"
"Franbeans can make us earn a lot of gold."
Albert stood up and looked shocked. He could not believe what he heard. Franbeans that were treated as cheap as grass could have so much value in gold. Albert stared at the prince, hoping that he wasn't joking because the kingdom desperately needed money. He lost his composure."H-How will you earn gold from the Franbeans, your highness?"
Edgar smiled at the shocked old man, then answered his question. "Oil!"
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone