Awakening: Reincarnating With the SSS-Level Extraction Talent

Chapter 123 Arceus the Grand Mage, Alex Doesn't Give Up

[You have entered Arceus' Chamber]

[It has been added to your "World Map"]

Now even being banned from this place would mean that Alex could come back.

As he opened the door of the top of the tower, he heard a voice from within.

"Hm, no, that won't work, needs more power~"

It was a man's voice, one that sounded surprisingly young for the [Grand Mage's] supposed age.

By his voice, you could guess that he was around 40 years old.

And once the golden light that blinded Alex disappeared, his suspicions were confirmed: before him stood a man, wearing a long robe with stars all over it.

He had blond hair and was especially handsome.

"Hm..."

[Arceus - Grand Mage - Level ???]

There was no tier because Grand Mage in itself was a rank, it simply just was above tier-10.

Meanwhile, Arceus was busy swinging his staff, doing who knows what.

"No~ That magic won't work either," he shook his head, "Creating these forbidden spells is difficult..."

"Hm..."

"Oh, what if I add a bit of this?" Arceus went back to his desk, writing something on one of the books placed on it, then returning to his 'tests'.

"Hello?" Alex spoke, trying to grab Arceus' attention.

But that was a mistake.

The moment he heard the voice, Arceus instinctively thought that a powerful intruder had come to his tower.

"How...?" Arceus thought. No normal being should be able to reach this place.

It would require immense strength or cunning to defeat the Guardian of The Tower!

His mind immediately jumped to conclusions. Another Grand Mage? A deity? Or worse—one of the entities beyond this plane?

In the end, he didn't take his chances, and so as he turned around, he cast [Chaos Shard].

FWISH!

A jagged, black shard formed at the tip of his staff, firing at lightning speed.

BOOM!

Alex's entire body exploded the exact instant the tip of the shard touched his skin.

-784,327,906!

"Annoying intruder, now I'll have to clean up," Arceus sighed.

But then he thought something: wasn't this intruder too weak?

If it was a Grand Mage or one of those entities he feared could come for him, they would have easily avoided that attack.

"Oh well, doesn't matter to me," Arceus shrugged, "Shouldn't have come here if you knew it was my domain."

Ding!

[You have been killed by "Grand Mage Arceus"]

[Fortunately, the level difference is so high that you will not receive any punishments, and will in fact not even be forcefully logged off.] Stay tuned to ???

After a few seconds, Alex appeared back in Star City, as it is where his spawn point was now set.

"Damn."

Alex didn't expect to be instantly killed by the Grand Mage.

He probably didn't expect anybody to find him, and if anyone was strong enough to complete his small trial, then they could maybe be a threat, meaning he took no chance.

[Your Mage Tower token broke since you have died inside of the realm.]

"Oh."

He grabbed his [Mage Tower Token] instinctively, and as expected it turned to dust before disappearing.

This meant that he couldn't go back to the [Mage Tower] realm using normal methods anymore.

But well, why would Alex even care?

When he entered the top floor room, his [World Map] had told him that "Arceus' Chamber" had been added.

And just as he thought, in the [Secret Realms] section of the World Map, the [Mage Tower] was added, the small dot past the [Mystical Forest] still available.

He was now able to click on it, and once he did, three subsections opened:

[Bottom of the tower.]

[Trial room.]

[Arceus' Chamber.]

As said before, Spatial Magic is some of the most powerful magic available, even Grand Mages like Arceus and Sebastian (the one that put the curse on Arcelia) having a hard time using it.

Bans or seals meant nothing when someone had the ability to break through realms after all.

Alex clicked on the [Arceus' Chamber] subsection and was instantly enveloped in light.

...

He reappeared in the chamber.

Arceus was back at his desk, furiously scribbling into a thick tome.

"No… if I adjust this rune… wait, what if I...?"

"Hey there!" Alex called out cheerily.

The Grand Mage froze, his golden eyes widening. "You again?!"

He wasted no time, his staff glowing as another [Chaos Shard] materialized.

Fwish—BOOM!

-784,327,906!

"And don't come back!"

But of course, Alex wasn't going to give up, and so less than 30 seconds later, he was already back in the chamber.

"You'll have to do better than that!"

"Impossible!" Arceus roared, his frustration mounting.

He cast a series of spells in rapid succession.

[Temporal Lock!]

[Dimensional Seal!]

[Arcane Erasure!]

But none of it worked.

Each time Alex died, he reappeared seconds later, the seals breaking as if the laws of magic themselves had been rewritten.

After what felt like the hundredth death, Arceus stood in the center of the chamber, his robe singed, his hair disheveled, and his patience completely eroded.

He wasn't tired, since his mana pool was almost endless except if he decided to use some of his more powerful spells.

But that kid was still wasting his time.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" he bellowed, his voice shaking the entire tower.

Alex, who had just finished dusting off his armor from yet another resurrection, grinned. "I want to be your student!"

His eyes sparkled with determination. "I want to become the strongest mage there is."

"Refused!" Arceus roared, firing another [Chaos Shard].

BOOM!

Seconds later, Alex was back again, grinning as if nothing had happened.

"Come on, think about it," Alex teased. "You've got all this power, all this knowledge, but no one to pass it on to."

"You're delusional!" Arceus snapped. "Teaching is for mortals. I am beyond such trivialities!"

"But aren't you bored?" Alex countered after another death, "Locked in this tower, muttering to yourself, failing your own experiments. Wouldn't it be more fun to have someone help out?"

"I would rather eat my own staff than train a reckless fool like you!"

Another [Chaos Shard].

BOOM!

"Well..." Alex grinned, "What does it take to be your student? I'm just going to come back over and over, you know?"

"..." Arceus didn't answer, instead changing his spell and using [Swift Decapitation] to cut Alex's head off instantly.

-764,894,281!

Ding!

Alex was back.

"So?"

"Fuck you!"

After what felt like hours of this chaotic back-and-forth, Arceus finally dropped his staff, running a hand through his golden hair.

"I don't understand," he muttered. "How are you doing this? No mortal, no entity, not even another Grand Mage should be able to bypass my seals!"

Alex shrugged, "What can I say? I'm built different."

Arceus glared at him, his frustration evident.

For the first time in centuries, he felt truly, utterly defeated—but not in battle, in sheer persistence.

"Fine!" he snapped, throwing his hands in the air. "I'll entertain this madness. But let me make one thing clear."

He pointed his staff at Alex, his aura flaring with power.

"If you so much as waste one second of my time, I will erase you from existence in a way that even your ridiculous powers won't reverse!"

Alex's grin widened. "Deal!"