Victor’s mind raced as he assessed the situation. They said, “Offense is the best defense,” but when it came to facing the twin overseers, it wasn’t the case. Their perfect synchronization was an insurmountable mountain that he couldn’t overcome.

  Every time he cast a spell, they countered immediately — Garry with his long-range trails of ice and Gabrielle with her relentless elemental orbs. The constructs were not just reactive but proactive, anticipating his moves and neutralizing them before they could cause any damage. Even when he managed to land a hit, the impact was negligible. This, in turn, became a slow war of attrition designed to exhaust him, draining his energy until he could no longer cast a single spell. Truly a cruel and calculated strategy.

  I need to find an opening to activate my sigil… Sigils were powerful, but each could only be used once before entering a long cooldown period, and he only had formed one sigil. My observation of their movement patterns is about enough. Besides, now is about time to get serious and turn the tide.

  “Not going to attack again?” Garry’s voice broke through his thoughts, laced with condescension. The overseer seemed to have deduced that Victor’s attacks had been futile.

  “Then, we will,” Gabrielle added with an equally mocking tone.

  Both mechanical constructs prepared to launch a barrage of long-range strikes at Victor. But instead of showing fear, a confident smile curled on his lips. With a flick of his fingers, Victor summoned the Voidborn Orb from his interspatial ring — the magic weapon heightened his control over the Cosmo element and enhanced his magic prowess. He then ascended, positioning himself close to the ceiling to gain both distance and a clear view of the two mechanical constructs.

  “You can’t escape!” Countless elemental orbs and icicles were hurled toward Victor, filling the air with deadly projectiles.

  Victor snickered at those words. “Can't escape? That’s my line.” In a flash, he cast {Gap Hole}, opening multiple spatial rifts around the arena. However, as opposed to using these rifts to directly attack, Victor manipulated them to redirect the overseers’ own attacks back at them. The arena erupted into chaos as the redirected strikes disrupted their flawless synchronization.

  Lumen took this chance to spring into action, executing the plan with precision. She became a blur of light, shooting right behind the mechanical constructs. The moon mark on her forehead glowed intensely, and particles of light began to coalesce around her, forming a massive, spectral mouth with razor-sharp fangs. With a ferocious snarl, the spectral jaws clamped down on the constructs, sending shockwaves reverberating through the chamber. The force of the attack left Garry and Gabrielle staggered.

  Concurrently, Victor activated his sigil, feeling a surge of raw power course through his body as mana infused with the Cosmo element gathered at his left hand. Channeling this energy, Victor cast his offensive spell — {Warpblade}. The ethereal blade that materialized was only one, but its power was immense, rivaling or even surpassing that of an all-out attack of an Elemental Adept Magus. Furthermore, he sent his infused mana toward the spatial rifts, which amplified and multiplied the rift network.

  “I’ll end it with this!” With precision, Victor let loose the ethereal blade into one of the spatial rifts, creating a cascade of destructive force that echoed through the chamber. The blade, empowered by the amplified network of rifts, sliced through the air with unerring accuracy, homing in on the mechanical constructs.

  But just as victory seemed within reach, a cold voice rang out. “Don’t be too confident.” In an instant, a pulse of destructive energy blasted from the two mechanical constructs, colliding with the incoming ethereal blade. The blade, powerful though it was, shattered into oblivion under the force of the attack. The destructive energy didn’t stop there as it swiftly turned toward Victor like a relentless predator.

  Reacting on pure instinct, Victor cast {Ethereal State}, sending his body into the subspace. The laser-like energy beam tore through the space he had just occupied, missing him by a hair’s breadth. Even in his ethereal state, the proximity of the attack sent a wave of searing pain through his body. He could feel the malevolent force trying to drag him back into the material world.

  If that wasn’t bad enough, casting powerful Bet-tier spells in succession had momentarily exhausted him. Soon, his ethereal form flickered, and he was forcibly ejected from the special state before crashing to the ground with a heavy thud. Next time they fired that attack, he could only hope the Twilight Moon Pendant would be able to save his ass.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “Not bad.” In his dazed state, Victor couldn’t determine whose voice was that. But he tried his best to force his eyes to focus on the two mechanical constructs, to figure out what just happened. The sight that met him was startling: parts of their bodies had fused together, creating a singular, terrifying form that had unleashed the devastating attack.

  Still.

  Got you! A manic grin spread across Victor’s face. “Do you really think I staked everything on that attack?” Like a conductor guiding a symphony, he flicked his fingers, sending a pulse of infused mana coursing into the ground beneath the constructs.

  The arena seemed to hold its breath for a moment, and then—

  Ka-boom! Boom! Boom!

  The ground beneath the mechanical constructs erupted in a series of violent explosions. Each detonation was more powerful than the power of a Bet-tier spell. The blasts tore through the chamber, sending shockwaves that rattled the very walls. Thick, acrid smoke billowed up, quickly enveloping the entire arena and shrouding the devastation from view.

  This was Victor’s true strategy.

  It was not to end the battle with the {Gap Hole} and {Warpblade} spells combo. The real ace up his sleeve was the secret weapon Eleanor had provided him with. To begin with, the secret weapon was a dozen or so grenade-like explosives, crafted from the rare magic ores. Despite it being a waste of rare materials, the result was incredible, as it blended modern technology with magic. Unfortunately, he could only use this strategy once as he had no more of these precious grenades left.

  As the smoke began to subside, Victor remained on high alert, with Lumen back at his side — the moment he was speaking his last line, she had fled in advance. He knew these constructs were incredibly powerful, but he also knew that no opponent could emerge completely unscathed from such a massive onslaught.

  Ten seconds later, through the thinning veil, Victor could just make out the faint outlines of the mechanical constructs’ remains. Pieces of their metallic bodies were scattered across the floor, sparks flew from exposed circuits, and nothing appeared to be left standing.

  “Did I win?” For a brief, exhilarating moment, Victor dared to hope that the battle was over.

  But his relief was short-lived. A cold, mocking voice suddenly echoed behind him. “A mere Elemental Adept rank Magus dares to think he could truly defeat us?”

  Before Victor could react, the silence was broken by enthusiastic applause, followed by the sound of two pairs of footsteps approaching. A familiar voice rang out, filled with amusement. “Not bad! Not bad at all! Your performance has been truly entertaining. Fighting you has been quite fulfilling.”

  Victor’s muscles tensed as prepared for another confrontation, but he soon relaxed. What’s this feeling of déjà vu? Slowly, he turned to face the source of the voice and saw the two figures who had supposedly merged with the mechanical constructs.

  “We could control hundreds of those,” Garry said casually. “Defeating one set doesn’t even put a dent in our reserves.”

  “H-HUNDREDS?!” A cold shiver ran through his spine. Wait, there must be a reason they didn’t do that from the start. Maybe they had a limited supply of these mechanical golems, or it could be there was something inherently flawed about them that prevented mass deployment. Victor could only guess.

  “That’s right.” Gabrielle nodded her head with a trace of smugness, a stark contrast to her usual cold and emotionless persona. “Besides, these weren’t even our true, true bodies.”

  It felt as though a ton of steel crashed into his heart. Victor couldn’t imagine it; it had taken his all to beat these two mechanical constructs, and those weren’t even the strongest they had… How was he supposed to win then? Was all of this just a futile effort and merely an amusement for them?

  “My dear sister, there’s no need to frighten him more than this,” Garry interjected before turning to Victor with an apologetic expression. “Apologies for my sister’s impudence. While it’s true that these ‘Marionettes’ are among the most basic, you’ve still managed to defeat us.”

  “…So, do I pass the trial?” Victor asked hesitantly, still processing the revelation.

  “Well, to tell the truth, the moment you demonstrated mastery in utilizing sigils to cast Cosmo-elemental spells and escape our ultimate attack, you had already passed,” Garry explained.

  “Yup-yup,” Gabrielle chimed in, surprisingly agreeable.

  Really? Victor felt a wave of relief wash over him. Rather than being upset by their earlier taunts, he was thrilled to have survived. The fact that his life was spared was all that mattered at the moment. Anything else could be dealt with later.

  “Okay. Since you have passed all our trials, it’s only fitting that you inherit this pocket dimension,” Garry declared. “And, of course, it’s time to tell you the truth about this place.”

  Victor's eyes widened in anticipation, and he could feel his heart pounding quickly. “Alright!” he replied, trying to contain his eagerness.

  Nodding in understanding, Garry waved his hand, and a swirling portal materialized before them. He gestured for Victor and Lumen to follow, stepping into the portal with Gabrielle close behind. As Victor crossed the threshold, he found himself transported to the top of the tower, like literally. The room he entered was vast, and he could see every part of the pocket dimension. It was clear that this was no ordinary space; it was the control room for the entire pocket dimension, the very heart of its power.

  “First of all, congratulations on finishing all the trials,” Garry began with a hint of respect in his voice. “As promised, we will now pledge our allegiance to you.”

  With that, both Garry and Gabrielle gracefully knelt before Victor. The once imposing overseers were now humbling themselves before him. The sight was both surreal and deeply satisfying.