Chapter 114- The legendary grade affinity??
Everyone exchanged glances when the Guardian asked who wanted to go next.
Nobody moved.
Seeing the silence stretch on, Rook finally broke it.
"What the hell are you all so scared of? Fine—I’ll go check my own affinity first. Let’s get this over with."
He stepped forward into the circular formation. The moment his foot touched the platform, light bloomed around him, and the raised surface rose to meet his palm, same as it had for Ben.
He pressed his hand down and released a flood of mana and qi into it at once.
[Ding~]
[Candidate Detected.]
[Eight Pillar Evaluation — Beginning.]
Pillars lit in sequence. Three flared to life cleanly. The fourth flickered weakly before dying out entirely.
Rook clicked his tongue in disappointment. "Tch. Who even wants a lightning class, honestly."
[Ding~]
[Pillars Awakened: 3/8]
[Rare Compatibility — Confirmed.]
[Detected Class: Qi Sword Saint.]
[Class Grade: Undetermined.]
[Lightning Swordsman Available.]
"Tch. Don’t need it," Rook muttered, already turning to walk back.
The Guardian spoke up. "You already walk a path unique to yourself. This inheritance would offer you little."
Rook nodded and stepped away without another word.
Jae went next. Two pillars lit, confirming baseline Rare-rank qualification.
Then Dara—three pillars.
Then Tina—three as well.
One by one, each of Rook’s disciples tested their affinity, and every single one landed squarely in Rare-rank territory, nothing higher.
Jae, watching the pattern repeat across all of them, sighed. "Guess none of us are anything special."
Tina shot him a small smile. "Don’t sulk about it. This just isn’t our path. We’ve already got our own to walk."
The Guardian nodded in agreement. "She’s right. Any of you could still choose the Rare-rank inheritance if you wanted—but if you’ve already found something that fits who you are, there’s little reason to."
"Heh." Hugh strolled forward, cracking his knuckles. "Let’s see how impressive I actually am."
He placed both hands on the platform. Four pillars lit cleanly in succession, and a fifth flickered briefly before fading.
"Heh, exactly as I expected," Hugh said, tucking both hands behind his head like a pillow as he sauntered back, looking thoroughly unbothered. "Not my path, sure, but still more talented than you snot-nosed brats."
Rook’s disciples—all still sitting comfortably in Rare-rank territory—clenched their fists in unison at that remark. Several of them looked like they were seriously considering whether beating an old man half to death counted as justified.
Elona stepped up next.
She managed to light three and a half pillars. "Not bad, I suppose. I’ve already got a unique class quest in progress, though, so I’ll pass on this one."
Min-seo went after her, lighting two pillars. "Nah. I’m happy with what I’ve got."
Yumi stepped forward next. As one of Rook’s disciples, she’d held back while her fellow students tested earlier, choosing instead to watch quietly from the side. A formation specialist and trained swordswoman both, she’d clearly been sizing up the whole process before committing.
She placed her hands on the platform.
The pillars lit one after another, climbing steadily until they stalled at three and a half. The fourth refused to light fully, hovering somewhere between on and off.
[Ding~]
[Pillars Awakened: 3.5/8]
[Epic Qualification — Failed.]
[Peak Rare Compatibility — Confirmed.]
She stared at the result, hands curling into fists at her sides. She’d genuinely hoped for more—qi had never come naturally to her, and she’d pinned real hope on this path giving her something she could actually excel at. Even Epic rank would have meant something.
Steeling herself, she turned to the Guardian. "What does landing on 3.5 pillars actually mean? Does a Rare-rank class come with some kind of hidden ceiling? If I choose this now, will I hit a wall trying to grow with it later?"
The Guardian looked at her for a long moment, clearly a little taken aback by the question—then something like genuine warmth crossed her expression. "No. There’s no such ceiling. An ordinary class, pushed to its true potential, can rival even a Legendary one. Everyone feels like they’ve hit their limit at some point. What matters is whether you choose to break through it or not. The General himself—the very man whose legacy you’re all standing in front of right now—started as an ordinary soldier with the most common class imaginable. He built everything he became from that foundation, piece by piece."
Yumi’s eyes widened, and a ripple of quiet reaction passed through the rest of the group as well.
Leo found himself thinking of Caelum in that moment—the man who’d stubbornly stuck with a plain Swordsman class the entire time Leo had known him, and still fought like it barely mattered.
"Okay," Yumi said, resolve settling into her voice. "I’ll take the class."
The Guardian’s expression brightened visibly at the acceptance. She nodded and directed Yumi toward the temple entrance.
Yumi stepped inside.
[Ding!]
[Compatible Rare-Rank Inheritance Detected.]
[Current Class: Swordsman]
[Available Class: Stormforge Blade]
[Rank: Rare — Peak]
[A sword is a line. A formation is a pattern. Lightning is the moment they meet.]
[Class Compatibility — Confirmed.]
[Legacy Compatibility — Confirmed.]
[Class Exchange Available.]
She selected Yes.
[Ding!]
[Class Exchange Requirements]
[Candidate Compatibility — Confirmed.]
[Lightning Essence — Required.]
[Conversion Source: 62 Gold.]
Seeing the cost, she turned instinctively toward where Leo stood, already half-moving to head out and ask—only to realize every panel she was seeing was also visible to him.
Sure enough, a text came through first. "Don’t worry, I’ve got it covered."
She replied simply: "Thank you."
[Ding!]
[Gold Conversion — Complete.]
[Lightning Essence — Supplied.]
[Class Transformation — Beginning.]
The instant Leo paid, a storm of lightning erupted around her, the same surge from the pillars breaking loose and merging directly into her frame.
Her body began restructuring itself, same as Ben’s had.
Pain tore through her, sharp and immediate, but she gritted her teeth and pushed through it without a sound.
[Ding!]
[Class Transformation — Complete.]
[New Class: Stormforge Blade.]
She clenched her fist, thin arcs of lightning crackling obediently around her knuckles.
The storm around her faded away entirely. Leo could see the change settle into her posture, the new energy sitting differently on her now, and he nodded, satisfied.
She walked back toward the group, lips pressed thin. "Not Epic," she muttered, quiet disappointment coloring her voice.
Leo walked over. "Not Epic yet."
Something in her expression shifted at that—resolve replacing disappointment almost instantly. She nodded firmly.
Yuna stepped forward next. Elona’s employee, and by this point clearly close to her—she’d been standing at Elona’s side since the very start of all this. A skilled mage in her own right, only mage capable of double-casting within this party.
Elona gave her a small nod of encouragement.
Yuna nodded back and made her way to the platform.
She stepped into the array, placed both hands down, and poured her mana in.
The pillars lit up faster than anyone who’d gone before her. Four in rapid succession, a fifth close behind, and a sixth flickered several times before finally dying out.
The Guardian’s eyes lit with genuine interest.
[Pillars Awakened: 5/8]
[Epic Lightning Compatibility — Confirmed.]
[Epic Lightning Trial — Available.]
The air in the chamber thickened noticeably, the temple itself seeming to radiate a kind of pressure that hadn’t been present before.
The Guardian’s voice carried through it. "You may enter the temple to accept your trial. Each trial unfolds in its own separate dimension, unique to the individual undertaking it—so I can’t tell you exactly what to expect. Good luck. On occasion, the trial itself can elevate a candidate’s rank further than their pillar count suggested. An Epic trial has, in rare cases, produced a Legendary result."
Yuna nodded at the explanation and stepped through the temple entrance.
New notifications followed her in.
[Ding!]
[Lightning Affinity — Detected.]
[Five Pillars — Awakened.]
[Ding~]
[You will be teleported to another dimension for the trial.]
[Lightning Essence Required: 100 gold coins.]
Leo, as expected, offered to cover it immediately, firing off a quick text. She didn’t accept, though—texting Elona instead.
A moment later, Elona transferred a hundred gold straight to Leo.
He gave a wry smile, shaking his head slightly. These women really did not like being anyone’s charity case.
[Ding!]
[Gold will be converted into Lightning Essence.]
[Ding!]
[Confirmation Received.]
[Ding!]
[Gold Conversion — Complete.]
[Lightning Essence — Supplied.]
[Beginning Teleportation and commencing Epic-rank Lightning Trial.]
[Epic Lightning Trial — In Progress.]
The panel hung quietly in front of the group.
"How long will this take?" Leo asked.
The Guardian shook her head. "I couldn’t say. It depends entirely on her. It’s likely to take some time, though—let’s continue with the others while we wait."
Cindy, who’d initially been too frightened of the lightning-wreathed Guardian to even speak, had since decided the woman was probably harmless—maybe even kind. Emboldened, she stepped forward without hesitation.
She marched into the formation and let out a loud, dramatic laugh. "HAHAHA!"
Hands on her hips, legs planted wide, nose tilted proudly toward the ceiling. "I’m gonna crush this."
Rook slapped a hand over his own face, groaning. "Just—just get it over with already."
Cindy placed both hands on the platform, expression shifting instantly into exaggerated seriousness, cheeks puffed out in concentration, ponytail swinging with the motion.
She began pouring in her mana, letting out a full-throated yell as she did. "AHHHHHHH!"
"You don’t actually need to shout," the Guardian said.
Cindy kept shouting anyway.
The pillars began lighting, one after another.
Then, surprisingly, four of them lit almost at once.
She kept yelling through it.
The fifth pillar caught too—faster than any of the previous candidates had managed to reach even the third.
Soon the fifth pillar burned steady, and the sixth began to flicker.
Cindy never let up, pouring mana in wave after wave, pausing only to cough and catch her breath before immediately launching back into her war cry. "AHHHHHHH!"
"Wait—is the shouting actually working?" someone in the group murmured.
The Guardian’s lip twitched, visibly fighting some reaction.
But the pillars kept climbing. The sixth locked in fully, and the seventh began to stir.
The whole group stared, speechless.
Ben muttered under his breath, "Should I go back and try shouting too?" Tina smacked the back of his head without even looking at him. "That’s not how it works."
The seventh pillar finally lit in full, leaving everyone—the Guardian included—utterly speechless.
[Pillars Awakened: 7/8]
[Legendary Lightning Compatibility — Confirmed.]
[Legendary Trial — Available.]
The notification hung in the air, and an odd, stunned silence settled over the whole chamber except the girl shouting.
Then Rook’s booming laugh cut through it. "HAHAHAHA! Exactly what I’d expect from my own granddaughter! Well done! Genius, just like her grandfather!"
Hugh shot him a flat look. "You were hiding your face in embarrassment two minutes ago. And you only lit three pillars yourself. Where exactly does the ’genius, just like me’ logic come from?"
"Shut it, old man," Rook snapped back.
The Guardian, meanwhile, looked genuinely stunned—she hadn’t seriously expected the child to come anywhere close to lighting all eight pillars.
The evaluation had already finished processing. But Cindy, oblivious, kept right on shouting.
Rook’s face went red all over again. "That—that little brat."
Hugh nearly doubled over laughing.
The Guardian, clearly delighted despite herself, called out warmly. "You can stop shouting now, dear. Come here—let me get a proper look at you."
Cindy kept screaming at the top of her lungs regardless, still pouring mana into the platform, completely lost in her own momentum, not registering a single word directed at her.
A vein visibly pulsed at the Guardian’s temple.
Cindy continued, utterly oblivious, still shouting with everything she had.
Finally, patience exhausted, the Guardian reached out and smacked her lightly on top of the head.
"I said, stop shouting, child."
"Ow!" Cindy yelped, snapping back to reality and rubbing her head as she turned to see who’d hit her—only to find a stern, lightning-wreathed woman staring down at her.
"...Ha. Haha. Sister Spirit Guardian?" she mumbled sheepishly.